Aging dams, political instability, poor human decisions and climate change: recipe for human disaster
In Derna, Libya, a record-breaking storm and subsequent dam failures on September 10, 2023, caused over 11,000 deaths. Analyzing satellite data from 2016–2023, we found 1.8 mm/yr of differential settlement in dams contributed to their failure, and flooding damaged ~8570 buildings. We argue that the interplay of aging infrastructure, political instability, climate change, and human decisions drove this disaster, stressing the need for a holistic ‘healthcare’ management approach to prevent future catastrophes.
Authors
- Yunxia Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1097-1324)
- Leonard O. Ohenhen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4794-495X)
- Nitheshnirmal Sãdhasivam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6502-8985)
- Manoochehr Shirzaei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0086-3722)
- Oluwaseyi Dasho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8514-0181)
- Susanna Werth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4144-0382)
- Amir AghaKouchak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4689-8357)
- Mohammed Azhar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4852-4773)
- Robert J. Nicholls (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9715-1109)
- Farshid Vahedifard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8883-4533)
- Ashutosh Tiwari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2517-0201)
Institutions
- University of East Anglia (GB)
- Tufts University (US)
- United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment, and Health (CA)
- Irvine University (US)
- Tyndall Centre (GB)
- Virginia Tech (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj natural hazards.
- Published
- 2025-01-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-024-00056-1
- Citations
- 8
- Primary Topic
- Flood Risk Assessment and Management
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 8.84
Funders
- European Space Agency