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The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has expressed concern regarding two more dams in east Libya which were said to be dealing with massive amounts of pressure after the collapse of two dams in a powerful storm that hit Libya last week killed thousands. The UN agency said reports regarding the two dams’ stability were “contradictory.”
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has expressed concern regarding two more dams in east Libya which were said to be dealing with massive amounts of pressure after the collapse of two dams in a powerful storm that hit Libya last week killed thousands. The UN agency said reports regarding the two dams’ stability were “contradictory.”
Mediterranean storm Daniel hit the country last week, destroying the two dams and causing floods that largely devastated the city of Derna, killing thousands of the city’s residents and leaving more missing.
The Jaza Dam, which lies between the storm-hit, devastated city of Derna and nearby Benghazi, and the Qattara Dam near Benghazi were both in good condition and functioning, authorities meanwhile said. Jaza Dam was being equipped with pumps to relieve pressure, the OCHA cited authorities as saying.
For years, experts had warned that the two collapsed dams were at risk due to floods, especially amid a lack of immediate maintenance. The two dams lay uphill from the coastal city of Derna and were meant to protect some 90,000 people.
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Built-in the 1970s by a Yugoslav construction company, the Abu Mansour and Derna dams were meant to protect the city from common flash floods. They suffered major damage in 1986 when a strong storm hit the region. The study conducted in 1990 revealed cracks and fissures in the dams’ structure. However, experts’ incessant calls for maintenance largely went unheeded and since then, for more than a decade, Libya has been divided between two rival governments.
