Easy News: Floods in Libya after Storm Daniel breaks dams

1. 

   On 10th of September, a town in Libya called Derna was very badly flooded. Many people drowned and many buildings were destroyed.

2. 

   Libya is a country in the north of Africa. Derna is in the north-east of the country, next to the Mediterranean Sea.

3. 

   A big storm, called Storm Daniel, came to Derna from the Mediterranean Sea. The storm carried a lot of rain clouds with it.

4. 

   Derna had more rain on the 10th of September than it normally rained over the whole month. Over 250 times more!

5. 

   Derna was built around the Wadi Derna river. The river flows through mountains before it flows into the Mediterranean Sea.

6. 

   The Wadi Derna river had been dammed. This means walls had been built across the river to hold back some water. The dams were not very well built or cared for.

7. 

   Because there was so much rain, the dams were holding back much more water than usual. 2 of the dams collapsed, and all of the water they were holding back rushed towards the town. This caused a lot of damage.

8. 

   Many bridges across the river were destroyed. Many buildings were also destroyed. At least 4,000 people have died, but this number could be much higher as 10,000 people are still missing.

9. 

   Libya has had civil wars because people cannot agree who should run it. A civil war is a war that takes place between 2 or more groups in 1 country.

10. 

    This has slowed down people who want to get help to people in Derna.

11. 

    The United Nations says it needs 71.4 million dollars to try and help Derna. The United Kingdom will spend 1 million pounds to try and rescue people in danger at Derna.

12. 

    There is a lot of anger at the local government of Derna. People think they knew the dams could collapse but did not do enough to improve them. Some people said that Derna police asked people to stay home even though it was not safe.

13. 

    8 people whose job it was to keep the dam in good condition have been arrested. 8 other people have also been arrested, including the Mayor of Derna.

14. 

    Experts say that the bad flooding is a result of climate change, because human activity is raising the average temperature of Earth.

15. 

    The Mediterranean Sea was hotter than it had ever been in July. This caused Storm Daniel to be pushed by stronger winds, and carry more rain clouds.

16. 

    Although weather is still very hard to predict, dangerous events like Storm Daniel have become much more likely because of the changing climate.

17. 

    If you would like to help people affected by the floods in Libya, you can donate to the Red Cross Appeal.

18. 

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