In a verdict by the Court of Appeal in Derna, the officials responsible for overseeing the country’s dams received prison sentences ranging from 9 to 27 years. Four other officials were acquitted.
The coastal city of Derna, home to 125,000 residents, suffered immense destruction from tremendous floods triggered by Storm Daniel last September.
The floods, which burst dams and swept away buildings, resulted in thousands of deaths and left thousands more missing, ravaging entire neighbourhoods.
In a statement, the Attorney General in Tripoli indicated that three of the defendants must “return money acquired from unlawful gains,” without specifying their names or positions.
A judicial source in Derna, speaking to Reuters by phone, stated, “The convicted officials faced charges of neglect, deliberate homicide, and misappropriation of public funds,” and noted that they have the right to appeal the verdicts.
A January report by the World Bank, United Nations, and European Union described the deadly flash flooding in Derna as a climate and environmental disaster.
The report estimated that $1.8 billion would be needed for reconstruction and recovery efforts.
The floods, which devastated the coastal city, highlighted the urgent need for infrastructure improvements and better disaster preparedness to prevent similar catastrophes in the future.
The assessment indicated that the dams’ collapse resulted from outdated hydrological data used in their design and insufficient upkeep, exacerbated by governance challenges during Libya’s prolonged period of conflict.
Since 2014, Libya has been divided between competing power factions in the east and west, following the NATO-backed overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.