The city of Darna has a history of floods given its geographic location (coastal and surrounded by mountains). In 1959, a major flood struck the city leading to 15 deaths. The government in power from 1969 to 2011 contracted with Yugoslavian companies in the 1970s to construct two dams to prevent such losses. These dams…
Written by
Essam Elkorghli
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Originally Published in
The city of Darna has a history of floods given its geographic location (coastal and surrounded by mountains). In 1959, a major flood struck the city leading to 15 deaths. The government in power from 1969 to 2011 contracted with Yugoslavian companies in the 1970s to construct two dams to prevent such losses. These dams were due to be repaired once international sanctions on Libya were lifted in 2003. In 2008, Libya contracted a Turkish company, Arsel, to carry out the repairs in 2011, but NATO’s militaristic intervention on the one hand, and economic sanctions on the other, prevented foreign companies from continuing. The equipment of the Turkish company was stolen in 2011 by NATO-backed rebels. Libya is a rich country. It has the largest oil reserves in Africa, an abundance of underground water, and numerous resources. It has more than $100 billion in frozen assets. Though Libyans need any aid they can get right now, the unfreezing of these assets will ease the delivery of aid for the needy and commence the reconstruction of not only the cities destroyed by the flooding but also cities that have been demolished by NATO’s 2011 intervention.
