Photos: Whole families drown in Libya’s floods

Search teams comb streets, wrecked buildings and even the sea to look for bodies in Derna, where the collapse of two dams unleashed a massive flash flood that killed thousands of people. [Yousef Murad/AP Photo]

The wall of water several feet high smashed into apartment buildings, drowning entire families in minutes.

One man, Fadellalah, believes 13 members of his extended family died. He is yet to hear about the fate of another 20, several days after two dams burst above the Libyan coastal city of Derna, unleashing epic floods that wiped out neighbourhoods and sent some of the dead into the sea.

As a powerful storm bore down on his hometown, Fadellalah, an information technology worker in Libya’s capital Tripoli, called his family on Sunday to urge them to move to higher ground.

“No one expected this,” said Fadelallah, who asked that his surname not be used because he fears reprisal from government officials and armed groups who could view his story as criticism of their efforts.

“Some of them didn’t have cars. They didn’t have a way to get out.”

Torrential rainwater that gushed down steep mountainsides and into the city killed thousands. Those who survived recount nightmarish scenes, with bodies piling up more quickly than authorities could count.

Mediterranean Storm Daniel caused deadly flooding in many towns of eastern Libya. But Derna, renowned for its white villas and palm trees, was the worst hit. The city had no evacuation plans, and residents said the only warning was the explosive sound of the dams rupturing.

The startling devastation has underscored Libya’s vulnerability. The oil-rich country has been divided between rival administrations, each backed by competing armed groups, for almost a decade. [Yousef Murad/AP Photo]

Both governments, and their various international patrons, have banded together to help those affected. [Yousef Murad/AP Photo]

Progress has been slow. Key bridges, roads and other infrastructure are gone. Derna, which had a population of 90,000, was largely cut off from the world before the first aid convoys arrived late on Tuesday. [Yousef Murad/AP Photo]

As of Wednesday, at least 30,000 people have been displaced by the flooding in Derna, the UN said. Many fled to nearby cities and towns less affected by the storm. [Yousef Murad/AP Photo]

Survivors of a flood that swept away the centre of a Libyan city pick through the ruins on Thursday in search of loved ones. [Yousef Murad/AP Photo]

Damage from massive flooding is seen in Derna, Libya. [Yousef Murad/AP Photo]

The devastation is clear from high points above Derna, where the densely populated city centre is now a wide, flat crescent of earth with stretches of muddy water gleaming in the sun. [Yousef Murad/AP Photo]

The beach is littered with clothes, toys, furniture, shoes and other possessions swept out of homes. [Yousef Murad/AP Photo]

Streets are covered in deep mud and strewn with uprooted trees and hundreds of wrecked cars, many flipped on their sides or their roofs. [Yousef Murad/AP Photo]