Nearly three months have passed since two dams on Libya’s Wadi Derna river collapsed during Storm Daniel. On Sept. 11, rampaging floodwaters engulfed the coastal city of Derna, washing thousands of people out to sea.
As of Nov. 14, the death toll stands at 4,352 and more than 8,000 people are missing, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or UNOCHA. A further 44,800 are internally displaced. These people still face myriad problems, including a lack of basic needs such as shelter and clean water. There have been nearly 10,000 cases of diarrhea. Psychological distress among children is highly reported.
But the world has long since moved on, especially with war raging in Gaza. And even though we’re in the midst of the United Nations Climate Change Conference — and these types of floods are a classic sign of the increasing ferocity of storms due to a warming planet — Libya is now just one of many climate change-exacerbated disasters that barely receive fleeting mentions.