Over the weekend of September 9, a slow-moving weather system in the Mediterranean called Storm Daniel struck the northeastern part of Libya, causing severe flooding that the government called “catastrophic and unprecedented,” and that it said has so far led to the deaths of more than 2,000 people. Thousands are missing or displaced.
The storm, which in some areas dumped 30 times more rain in several days than the region usually gets in the month of September, has burst dams and caused extensive damage, submerging and in some instances sweeping away entire neighborhoods.
Zaman's long-standing partner, International Medical Corps, is responding to this disaster. While search-and-rescue efforts are underway for the up to 10,000 people who are still missing, International Medical Corps' Libya team has deployed to the affected areas. The team is preparing to provide emergency health, and water, sanitation and hygiene services and supplies to affected and displaced families—as well as coordinating with government agencies and other response actors to conduct assessments in affected communities.
International Medical Corps has a history in Libya dating back to 2011, with programming has focused on health, mental health and gender-based violence prevention and response services and training to vulnerable people, including refugees, asylum seekers, internally displaced persons and returnees.
