Libya floods: ‘It happened in seconds,’ say families left picking up the pieces amid devastation

Destroyed houses partially buried in mud in Derna, Libya. Photo: Washington Post/Alice Martins

Louisa Loveluck
© Washington Post

The white walls of Alaam Sadaawi’s house are stained red with the muddy handprints that his wedding guests left behind, holding on for dear life as the floodwaters rose around them. His family had been planning the party for weeks. His father, Mayloud (70), had bought silver platters for the food and new cups for sweet tea.

By Friday, they were buried in the red silt that Storm Daniel left behind on Sunday, September 10, as it thundered down the valley and covered this town of 8,000 people in eastern Libya. It took 15 men to clear the layers of dirt from the marble floors, the family said. The trauma will be harder to erase.