The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Libya floods: Level of destruction is unfathomable, says UN refugee agency
As UN humanitarian responders continue their work in the worst-hit areas of Derna after two dams collapsed upstream of the coastal city of Derna, the magnitude of the disaster continues to unfold, they said on Tuesday.
“The situation on the ground is catastrophic,” said Rana Ksaifi, Assistant Chief of Mission in Libya for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
“I have been a humanitarian worker for over 19 years, and this is one of the worst disasters that I have witnessed. The level of destruction is unfathomable. I saw houses, schools, buildings, shops submerged, and some were completely destroyed and wiped out. Thousands of individuals have lost everything, not least their loved ones.”
According to the Libyan Red Crescent, over 11,000 people are reported dead so far, with a further 10,100 missing. These figures are expected to increase as clean-up operations get under way and standing water recedes.
Humanitarians remain deeply concerned about the new wave of displacement caused by the floods.
“Approximately 50,000 refugees and asylum seekers are registered with the UNHCR in Libya, including over 1,000 who are living in the areas affected by the floods prior to the floods. Additionally, some 46,000 internally displaced persons were hosted in the eastern parts of Libya before the floods,” said Ms. Ksaifi, speaking from Benghazi to reporters in Geneva.
The needs for healthcare, mental health services and household goods for the homeless, as well as logistical support are enormous.
“The immediate needs, of course, are for safe water, hygiene kits and accommodation, including the reopening of the schools for this academic year so children can have a bit of normality back in their lives,” said Ms. Ksaifi. “Then, of course, we need to help people as they confront the deep psychological scars that this devastating storm has left them in. All of this is going to happen while the cities continue to be rebuilt for years to come.”
The UNHCR official noted that her immediate tasks included taking reception of 53 tonnes of relief items from the agency’s aid hub in the United Arab Emirates, which was due to land in Benghazi.
Echoing concern about the sheer scale of the disaster and describing the situation in Derna as “unprecedented humanitarian crisis”, Deputy Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Libya, Christopher Laker, emphasized that access to the affected areas remained “fairly limited”. For the moment, the authorities have prioritized search and rescue and ultimately recovery of the dead. “Some are still under collapsed buildings. Others are still out at sea,” he told journalists via Zoom.
Mr. Laker added that 97 per cent of some neighbourhoods had been “washed away” after the dams had collapsed. He highlighted the urgent need for maintenance of Libya’s water reservoirs and dams, and said that UNDP teams would be supporting the authorities with infrastructure assessments.
UNDP has decades of crisis experience in the region and around the world to support the removal of debris and rubble, socio-economic assessments and livelihoods support while providing immediate assistance to plan solution to address the longer-term consequences of the crisis.
“While immediate relief is crucial, early recovery is equally vital, and the planning should start now,” Mr. Laker said/ “Our goal is to assist Derna and the affected cities and municipalities in recovery. Debris and rubble removal is essential for creating corridors for the delivery of humanitarian assistance, essential for restoring infrastructure, creating safe living conditions, and enabling the communities to rebuild and recover.”
Reconstruction masterplans exist for Benghazi and Derna, led by the UNDP-partnered Construction Fund for Benghazi and Derna. In the wake of the disaster, UNDP has said that it intends adapt this project to prioritize restoring damaged buildings and roads.
“The UNDP is taking steps to support the Benghazi Donor Construction fund, which has been assigned by the Government in Tripoli to act as the main conduit for assistance to support the recovery and rehabilitation efforts in response to the floods,” Mr. Laker said.
-ends-
STORY: Libya floods: Update humanitarian situation - UNHCR, UNDP
DURATION (TRT): 3’29"
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16/9
DATELINE: 19 September 2023, GENEVA SWITZERLAND
FORMAT: HYBRID PRESS BRIEFING
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley, UN Geneva
- Wide shot: speakers and attendees at the press conference, screens with speaker
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Rana G Ksaifi, UNHCR Assistant Chief of Mission in Libya: “The situation on the ground is catastrophic. I have been a humanitarian worker for over 19 years and this is one of the worst disasters that I have witnessed. The level of destruction is unfathomable. I saw houses, schools, buildings, shops submerged and some were completely destroyed and wiped out. Thousands of individuals have lost everything, not least their loved ones.”
- Medium shot: attendees at the press conference, screen with speaker
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Rana G Ksaifi, UNHCR Assistant Chief of Mission in Libya: “Approximately 50,000 refugees and asylum seekers are registered with the UNHCR in Libya, including over a thousand who are living in the areas affected by the floods prior to the floods. Additionally, some 46,000 internally displaced persons were hosted in the eastern parts of Libya before the floods.”
- Medium shot: sound engineer at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Rana G Ksaifi, UNHCR Assistant Chief of Mission in Libya: “The immediate needs, of course, are for safe water, hygiene kits and accommodation, including the reopening of the schools for this academic year so children can have a bit of normality back in their lives. Then, of course, we need to help people as they confront the deep psychological scars that this devastating storm has left them in. All of this is going to happen while the cities continue to be rebuilt for years to come. Today, an aircraft carrying 53 metric tons of relief items from UNHCR stockpile in the United Arab Emirates is landing in Benghazi.”
- Wide shot: attendees, cameramen/women and sound engineers at the press conference, screens with speaker
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Christopher Laker, Deputy Resident Representative at UNDP Libya (speaking from Tripoli, Libya): “For now, access to the affected areas remains fairly limited as the authorities are prioritizing search and rescue and ultimately recovery of the dead. Some are still under collapsed buildings. Others are still out at sea.”
- Medium shot: attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Christopher Laker, Deputy Resident Representative at UNDP Libya (speaking from Tripoli, Libya): “While immediate relief is crucial, early recovery is equally vital, and the planning should start now. Our goal is to assist Derna and the affected cities and municipalities in recovery. Debris and rubble removal is essential for creating corridors for the delivery of humanitarian assistance, essential for restoring infrastructure, creating safe living conditions, and enabling the communities to rebuild and recover.”
- Medium shot: attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Christopher Laker, Deputy Resident Representative at UNDP Libya (speaking from Tripoli, Libya): “The UNDP is taking steps to support the Benghazi Donor Construction fund, which has been assigned by the government in Tripoli to act as the main conduit for assistance to support the recovery and rehabilitation efforts in response to the floods.”
- Close shot: attendees at the press conference
- SOUNDBITE (English) – Christopher Laker, Deputy Resident Representative at UNDP Libya (speaking from Tripoli, Libya): “UNDP is already a partner to this construction fund. We signed an agreement with them in 2022, which allows us to support them in prioritizing investments and for prioritizing interventions that aim at restoring damaged buildings, damaged roads.”
- Wide shot: attendees, photographer, cameramen/women and sound engineers at the press conference, screens with speaker
- Medium shot: attendees at the press conference
- Medium shot: camerawoman and attendees at the press conference, screens with speaker
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN rights chief urges de-escalation in Tigray amid rising tensions and violence.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , OHCHR
In Sudan, sick and starving children ‘wasting away’ – UN humanitarians
Relentless violence, famine and disease are picking off Sudan’s children while attacks on healthcare and a lack of aid access hamper efforts to help them, UN humanitarian agencies warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Monday gave an update to the Human Rights Council on the situation in El Fasher, Sudan.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“A series of new Israeli operations and settlement plans in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, risk seriously undermining the viability of a Palestinian state and the realisation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNIS
UN voices concern over chemical spraying incident on Lebanon’s Blue Line
The UN reiterated concerns on Friday at reports that Israeli forces sprayed herbicide over areas north of the Blue Line separating Lebanon from Israel. The development poses a “serious humanitarian risk” to civilians living there, said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), briefing journalists in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Gaza: Five patients evacuated as Rafah reopens while ‘too many stayed behind’ – WHO
As time is running out for thousands of critically ill patients in Gaza, hope is alive for medical evacuations to increase with the reopening of the Rafah crossing in the southern part of the Strip, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG , OHCHR
This Sunday marks five years of crisis in Myanmar. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights, and James Rodehaver, chief of the Myanmar team, today spoke on the conduct of recent military-imposed elections, deploring the failure to respect the fundamental human rights of the country’s citizens. The process served only to exacerbate violence and societal polarization.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Brutal Gaza war erased years of progress on education, in an “assault on the future itself” – UNICEF
Restoring Gaza’s shattered education system is “lifesaving” and getting children back into schools must be an immediate priority, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , HRC
Volker Türk, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, made the following remarks during a briefing to a Special Session on Iran at the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNOPS , UNIS
Amid the launch of President Trump's Board of Peace and reconstruction talks on Gaza, UN aid agencies insisted on Friday that what Gazans need most is immediate relief from the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe there.
2
6
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | HRC
At UN, war crimes probe pledges to continue to work for all impacted by Hamas-Israel conflict
As President Trump launched the international Board of Peace plan for Gaza on Thursday, top independent rights experts tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating grave abuses linked to the Hamas-Israel war pledged to continue their work seeking justice and accountability for all.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said Tuesday UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk was outraged by the repeated large-scale attacks by the Russian Federation on energy infrastructure in Ukraine.