Behind Libya’s catastrophic flooding: Extreme weather, vulnerable geography, and crumbling infrastructure

Experts suggest three key factors — extreme weather, vulnerable geography, and crumbling infrastructure — coalesced into one catastrophe, causing the most devastating floods to have hit North Africa in almost a century. Extreme WeatherThe flooding has occurred in Libya’s eastern region, which witnessed extreme rainfall from Sept 10 to 11. AdvertisementA man sits on a damaged car, after a powerful storm and heavy rainfall hit Libya, in Derna, Libya September 12, 2023. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori REFILE – QUALITY REPEAT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY A man sits on a damaged car, after a powerful storm and heavy rainfall hit Libya, in Derna, Libya September 12, 2023. Vulnerable geographyThe floods seem to have caused the most destruction in Derna — a coastal city with an estimated 100,000 inhabitants.