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In a sad turn of events, Derna, a city by the sea in Libya, faced a huge flood that has led to the loss of over 11,300 people. With heavy rain causing two big dams to break, the city saw water levels rise quickly. The Libyan Red Crescent, a big help group in the country, says another 10,100 people might be missing because of the flood. This shows how much danger this city, which is rich in oil, is in, especially as it's already dealing with many problems since 2011.
The head of Derna, Mayor Abdel-Moneim al-Ghaithi, thinks that when they count everyone, the number might even be 20,000. The water was so powerful that it washed away whole areas where people lived. Those who saw it happen have some scary stories to tell. One person said the water came in so fast and rose so quickly. He and his mom got caught but found a safe spot in a nearby building. Looking out, he saw cars and even people being pulled by the strong water. This lasted for over an hour and felt even longer.
Sadly, while Derna faced the worst, other places like Bayda and Marj also had problems because of the storm. There, around 170 people lost their lives. Tariq al-Kharaz, who works with the city's leaders, says it's a very big disaster. Many people who died are still missing, some buried under broken homes or taken by the sea.
What happened next is very sad. People in Derna started to bury those who passed away. By last Thursday, they had already buried over 3,000 people. Yann Fridez, from a big help group called the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said the flood was really bad. He talked about a huge wave, almost as tall as a two-story building, that knocked down homes and even big buildings.
But why did this happen? Was it just bad luck, or did people make mistakes? Some big experts think that if the city had better warning systems, they could have saved many people. If there were alerts, they could have told people to leave or find safe places. What's more, it looks like Derna's big water walls, called dams, haven't been looked after well since 2002. Anas El Gomati, a smart person from the Sadeq Institute, thinks that not caring for important city stuff and not using money right made things worse.
After such a big sad event, it's important to learn and do better. We can't bring back the people who are gone, but we can try to keep everyone safe in the future. Everyone is now looking at Libya, hoping they will learn and make things better.