Thirty-year-old journalist Abdul Aziz Afif, from al-Zawiya City, 40 kilometers west of Tripoli, was on his way back home last month when heavy rain and flooding prevented him from driving any further. Unable to open the doors submersed in water, Aziz Afif drowned in his car.   

Thirty-year-old journalist Abdul Aziz Afif, from al-Zawiya City, 40 kilometers west of Tripoli, was on his way back home last month when heavy rain and flooding prevented him from driving any further. Unable to open the doors submersed in water, Aziz Afif drowned in his car.   

At least 16 people lost their lives on November 30, when heavy rain paralyzed Tripoli and the west coast of Libya, causing floods to drown streets and houses—destroying everything inside them. Torrential rainfall continued to wreak havoc in the southwestern city of Qatrun on December 12.

The capital was a scene of chaos with major traffic jams and permanent disruption of main and secondary roads. Hundreds of cars were drowned and people were trapped in rain under some bridges, especially on the highway linking the east and west of Tripoli.

Many residential areas in Tripoli and al-Zawiya were transformed into lakes in the days following the rainfall, as a result of the blocked rainwater drainage and the aging infrastructure in some neighborhoods.

Worsened displacement

For internally displaced people (IDP) living in camps— like the Tawergha camp in the al-Falah area in Tripoli— temporary housing was completely flooded after the rise of the rain water level and in the absence of drainage channels along mostly semi-dirt grounds.

“The people of Tawergha were already living a real tragedy and their suffering has further increased due to the heavy rains,” said Abdul-Rahman al-Shakshak, head of the Tawergha local council. There are more than 38,000 IDPs in Tawergha currently living in a number of cities, mainly Tripoli and Benghazi.

“The people of Tawergha will have to resort to international organizations to provide them with humanitarian aid and assistance, if the government does not care about their problems.”

Al-Shaksha said that many charitable individuals extended a helping hand, and provided the people of the camp with assistance after they saw the damage done by the heavy rains and subsequent flooding.

No congress and no government

Prime Minister Ali Zaidan was on an official visit to Jordan when the floods occurred, but the government formed an emergency room, from the National Safety and Security Directorate of Tripoli, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Health and the Water and Sanitation Directorate to assist citizens affected by the intensity of the rainfall.

Many who tried to help were trapped by rainwater inside their cars on public roads in Tripoli and they too had to be rescued.

Despite the lack of resources, the team of the Public Company and Sanitation Services, provided suction vehicles and opened blocked drainage in neighborhoods and residential areas besieged by water.

The National Directorate of Security of Tripoli alerted citizens about taking extra precautions, and offered an emergency telephone number.

The General National Congress (GNC) still has not been able to hold an emergency session, not even to issue a statement comforting citizens. It suspended its meeting on December 1 because of the bad weather conditions in Tripoli and because only 80 of its 200 members attended the session due to the weather conditions, the cancellation of flights and the closure of a number of roads. 

Councils complain   

Sadat al-Badri, the head of Tripoli’s local council complained that he, as well as other members struggled to communicate due to the continuing electricity disruptions, heavy rainfall and the continued sit-ins in the city.

Al-Badri blamed the government and accused it of “not giving the local councils full freedom to develop solutions to some of the problems and bottlenecks.”

Nasser al-Karyouy, the head of Tripoli‘s local council crisis committee, said: “Sub local councils have started to examine the damage caused by the heavy rain, and work is underway to reduce the level of dust and water accumulated on roads and streets, especially in the entrance to Tripoli.”