TRIPOLI: Nearly a month after floods hit Derna in eastern Libya, survivors are struggling to overcome the psychological effects, with many grieving the loss — or still without news — of relatives and loved ones.
Extreme rainfall from hurricane-strength Storm Daniel led two upstream dams to burst on 10 September, sending flood waters through the middle of Derna.
The deluge razed the whole neighbourhoods, dividing the city and sweeping many individuals into the Mediterranean and to their deaths, according to AFP.
Mayssam Hasedi, who lost more than twenty relatives in the floods, said that today, Derna is broken in two. It is a reflection of what its inhabitants are feeling these days.
Human loss in Libya
More than four thousand people people have been reported dead and thousands more are still missing in eastern Libya, according to officials.
After days of clinging to the hope of finding survivors, the inhabitants of Derna now despair watching the continuous arrival of dead bodies recovered at sea.
The head of emergencies at the medical charity Doctors Without Borders Michel-Olivier Lacharite said that nearly everyone in the city is in suffering and mourning.
He said after meeting flood survivors in Derna, that some minors refuse to drink water for fear of drowning.
September’s flood was the latest catastrophe to strike the oil-rich North African nation that has been hit by war and lawlessness since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
The psychological impact of the calamity will also be felt for a long time among rescuers, particularly divers who recovered hundreds of dead bodies, according to aid groups.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that tremendous mental health needs are arising, and will continue to emerge, as the initial shock of the loss and devastation they have experienced begins to dissipate.
The International Rescue Committee on Tuesday warned of the great psychological toll the emergency is taking on those affected, especially in the city of Derna, one of the areas hardest-hit.
