“Entire families have been wiped out”

Libya bore the catastrophic brunt of Storm Daniel on 11 September, as floodwater swelled and dams burst, leaving the city of Derna and its surrounding areas and people in a state of devastation. A staggering 15 percent of the city’s population has died or is missing.

“In some cases, whole neighbourhoods were carried away to the middle of the sea, along with the people inside them,” says Ahmad Algeriany, program officer, UNFPA Libya. “Entire families have been wiped out.”

UNFPA is supporting mobile medical teams, maternity wards, psychosocial teams and safe spaces to mitigate the risk of unsafe births, unmet family planning and violence towards women and girls, all of which increase during a crisis.

Magnum photographer Moises Saman met some of the people affected, as well as those working to support them, in these unprecedented circumstances.

Flood damage to a home in Gandula.

An estimated 23,860 pregnant women have been affected by the floods.

In the Wadi Derna river valley, people refer to “the dam of death.”

Salah lost his wife and daughter in the flood.

Families displaced from Derna receive supplies and support in Al Bayda.

In the town of Martuba, a mass grave for unidentified victims of the floods in Derna.

A newborn at a maternity ward supported by UNFPA in Umar Al Mukhtar.

“When a new baby is delivered at the hospital, it brings a sense of joy and hope amid the challenging circumstances,” – Dr. Anwar, a gynaecologist at Derna's main maternity hospital

A survivor holds a clock that stopped at the time the flood arrived.

A prenatal checkup at a maternity ward supported by UNFPA.

A young girl clears mud from her home in Gandula.

“Derna used to be a vibrant and hopeful city,” says gynaecologist Dr. Anwar.

A medical worker in Umar Al Mukhtar. Around 100 health workers are among the dead.

A UNFPA doctor during a prenatal consultation in Shahat.

Psychosocial support has been identified as one of the priority needs.

Access to clean water and clothes for women is badly needed – particularly as winter approaches.

“The women I am encountering at the hospital are in great need of psychosocial support. Many appear emotionally shattered, particularly those who are pregnant, as they are coping with the loss of relatives and housing." – Dr. Anwar