Surviving the Derna Flood

“My uncle passed away, his wife, his three sons, I lost my best friend, and a lot of people in Derna lost someone that they know.”

On the 11th of September 2023 two dams burst in the hills above the city of Derna in Libya. Millions of tonnes of water were released in a catastrophic flood which killed thousands of people in the city. Whole neighbourhoods were swept away. Eastern Libya had been affected by heavy rain from Storm Daniel the day before, but the dam walls should have held firm, and a subsequent legal investigation jailed officials for failing to maintain them.

One year on we speak to someone who was there about how she survived, the tragedy which still affects the whole city, and how she is rebuilding her life.

Presenter: Alan Kasujja Guest: Mariam Al-Ghythy, a medical student from Derna