Responding to The Floods in Libya - the Darna Valley Crisis

Since the early hours of Monday, September 11th, thousands of lives have been lost, thousands more have been displaced, and thousands have been missing in eastern Libya. Cities have been submerged.

The flooding followed unprecedented rainfall in the Darna Valley, compounded by decades of government neglect and political conflicts leading to the deterioration of dams that collapsed. Civil Society Organizations have been raising concerns about this for years.

Centralization and decades of conflict between the eastern regions and the Libyan government under Gaddafi’s rule, followed by civil war, have led to a significant lack of investment in infrastructure in the region. Beyond the collapse of the dams, the lack of infrastructure further increases the challenges associated with the ongoing search and rescue operations and the efforts to bring much-needed resources to the region.

International sanctions and counter-terrorism measures have further crippled Libyan civil society and effectively isolated the country by restricting flights, financial transactions etc.

In the current crisis, these restrictions have made it exceedingly challenging to get resources to organizations on the ground in Libya - those best positioned to provide aid and support in the region.

In place of thoughts and prayers, we ask that restrictions be lifted immediately and that the international community ensure that aid and urgent financial support is made available and accessible to the on-the-ground efforts.

The full scale of the crisis is still unknown, but the long-term impact will be significant.

To facilitate efforts to support the response to the crisis, Libyan organizers, including Asma Khalifa from the Khalifa Ihler Institute, have been gathering information on trusted campaigns, fundraisers, and organizations with a presence in Libya and the ability to provide needed assistance.

The ever-evolving dashboard of information on these campaigns can be found embedded at the top of this article and here: https://lookerstudio.google.com/s/j283p3vhkZ8

More information on the crisis and our analysis can be found in the following articles:

Bjorn IhlerLibya