Photos: Catastrophic flooding devastates eastern Libya
People gather for a demonstration outside the Al-Sahaba mosque in Derna, Libya, on Monday, September 18. The protesters are trying to hold leaders accountable for the bursting of dams that some feel could have been avoided. This sign reads: "The sad city of Derna demands its rights."
Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

In photos: Catastrophic flooding devastates eastern Libya

Updated 1522 GMT (2322 HKT) September 19, 2023

People gather for a demonstration outside the Al-Sahaba mosque in Derna, Libya, on Monday, September 18. The protesters are trying to hold leaders accountable for the bursting of dams that some feel could have been avoided. This sign reads: "The sad city of Derna demands its rights."
Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

Thousands of people have died in eastern Libya after heavy rain from Storm Daniel inundated the North African country's coastal region and caused catastrophic flooding. More are feared missing.

Major floods in the hard-hit northeastern city of Derna resulted in entire neighborhoods being "washed out into the sea," said a spokesman of the Libyan National Army. Tens of thousands of people have been displaced, according to the United Nations' International Organization for Migration in Libya.

Emergency responders are searching through debris for survivors as morgues fill with bodies.

A building is damaged in Derna on September 18. Experts say the storm's impact was greatly exacerbated by a lethal confluence of factors, including aging, crumbling infrastructure; inadequate warnings; and the effects of the accelerating climate crisis.
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Hassan Kassar, who lost his daughters, two of his sons and his granddaughter, sits inside his damaged house in Derna on Sunday, September 17.
Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters
People walk through rubble and debris in Derna on September 17.
Esam Omran Al-fetori/Reuters
A woman who lost family members reacts as she walks past destroyed houses in Derna on September 17.
Zohra Bensemra/Reuters
A rescuer from the United Arab Emirates uses a dog to look for human remains in Derna on Saturday, September 16.
Amr Alfiky/Reuters
Debris is piled up in Derna on September 16.
Zohra Bensemra/Reuters
This aerial view shows the destruction in Derna on September 16.
Ayman Al-sahili/Reuters
Volunteers carry a body to a truck in Derna on September 16.
Zohra Bensemra/Reuters
An overturned car is inside a shop in Derna on September 16.
Zohra Bensemra/Reuters
A man walks by the graves of flood victims in Derna on Friday, September 15.
Yousef Murad/AP
People line up to receive food aid in Derna on September 15.
Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters
Devastation is seen in Derna on September 15.
Muhammad J. Elalwany/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A mosque stands amid damaged buildings in Derna on Thursday, September 14.
Abdullah Doma/AFP/Getty Images
A man carries a child on his shoulder as he walks past a flood-damaged area in Derna on September 14.
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Toys are scattered outside a damaged house on September 14.
Yousef Murad/AP
People look at damaged areas of Derna on September 14.
Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters
People carry some of their belongings as they walk along a muddy street on September 14.
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An overhead view of the flood damage in Derna on Wednesday, September 13.
Muhammad J. Elalwany/AP
Hassan El Salheen weeps in the Egyptian village of Al Sharief on September 13 after burying the repatriated body of his son, Aly, who died along with his three cousins in Libya.
Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters
A body is carried away in Derna on September 13.
Ahmed Elumami/Reuters
People search for survivors in Derna on September 13.
Yousef Murad/AP
A search-and-rescue team from the Egyptian army looks at damaged cars in Derna on September 13.
Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters
Workers bury the bodies of flood victims in Derna on September 13.
Yousef Murad/AP
An aerial view of Derna on September 12.
Jamal Alkomaty/AP
A man sits amid flood debris in Derna on September 12.
Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters
A damaged vehicle is partially buried in Derna on September 12.
Abdullah Mohammed Bonja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
People cover the body of a victim in Derna on September 12.
Abdullah Mohammed Bonja/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A road is collapsed in Derna on September 12.
Jamal Alkomaty/AP
People make their way through a damaged area of Derna on September 11.
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Toys are strewn across the ground at a damaged store in Derna on September 11.
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Floodwaters cover Shahhat, Libya, on September 11.
Ali Al-Saadi/Reuters
Overturned cars are piled in a street in Derna on September 11.
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The body of a flood victim lies in the back of a pickup truck in Derna on September 11.
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People stand on a damaged road in Shahhat on September 11.
Omar Jarhman/Reuters