LIBYA FLOODS ACUTE CRISIS JOINT RESPONSE

On September 10th, Storm Daniel made landfall in Libya causing severe weather conditions, including strong winds and sudden heavy rainfall affecting several northeastern areas of Libya. The storm reportedly led to significant infrastructure damage, including road network, disrupted the telecommunications network, and caused the displacement of over ten thousand people. Entire neighborhoods in Derna disappeared, along with their residents, swept away by water after the two aging dam structures collapsed, creating a catastrophic situation of which the sheer magnitude is still not fully clear. Derna is the worst-affected city while Al Abyar, Al Bayadah, Al Bayda, Al Marj, Al Mkheley, Al Owailia, Battah, Benghazi, Bersis, Bujarrar, Derna, Estatah, Labraq, Medouar Al Zetoun, Merad Rethiah, Shahat, Soussa, Taknis, Tobruk, Tolmeita, Tokra, Wardeah, and Zawet Al Arqoub were also hit. More than 5.000 people reportedly have lost their lives with an estimated 10,000 people missing and 30,000 have been displaced in the affected areas.

The Joint Response

The organisations united by the Dutch Relief Alliance and its Libyan partners are responding through a multisectoral intervention that aims to provide immediate relief to the most acute needs, paying extra attention to vulnerable groups such as women, children, and the elderly. The intervention focuses in particular on immediate medical assistance, water and sanitation, temporary shelter solutions, food security, protection and direct cash support.

The activities carried out under this Joint Response are the following:

• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH): providing access to safe drinking water and re-establishment of basic sanitation facilities to avoid the spread of communicable diseases;
• Health: immediate medical assistance, including emergency medical supplies, medicines, and medical personnel, safe-bodies management, is required to treat the injured and prevent the outbreak of diseases;
• Shelter & Non Food Items: provision of temporary shelter solutions and basic household non-food items such as clothes, blankets, matrasses and cooking utensils;
• Emergency Food Security & Livelihoods: Immediate food assistance, including ready-to-eat meals, dry rations, and nutritional support for infants and young children;
• Protection: providing psychosocial support since there’s a high risk of family separation and the presence of unaccompanied and separated children. Also gender-based violence is likely to increase. In addition, there is a risk of remnants of war;
• Multi-purpose Cash Assistance: distributing conditional and unconditional CASH transfers to households ensuring freedom, dignity and choice.