Parts of the collapsed bridge of the Derna Valley following the devastating floods caused by Storm Daniel. Ismaeel Naar / The National
Parts of the collapsed bridge of the Derna Valley following the devastating floods caused by Storm Daniel. Ismaeel Naar / The National
Parts of the collapsed bridge of the Derna Valley following the devastating floods caused by Storm Daniel. Ismaeel Naar / The National
Parts of the collapsed bridge of the Derna Valley following the devastating floods caused by Storm Daniel. Ismaeel Naar / The National

Libyan authorities warn that Derna’s main water supplies are contaminated with bacteria


Ismaeel Naar
  • English
  • Arabic

Libyan authorities have warned that bacterial contamination has been detected in all groundwater and seawater sources in the eastern port city of Derna, after sewerage systems were destroyed in the devastating September 10 floods.

A gruesome continuing challenge is the presence of decomposing bodies of victims that are still washing up on the shore.

The Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU) said authorities from the Environmental Sanitation Affairs office detected the contamination following analyses of water samples in the past week.

"Our teams continue to inspect the water sources in the affected cities by conducting comprehensive analyses of the water samples, including those from the pipeline that draws seawater to the desalination plant connecting to the Derna port basin area," authorities said.

Following the flood on September 10, when Storm Daniel made landfall and caused widespread destruction, health experts have been warning of the danger of water contamination and waterborne diseases.

Tens of thousands of residents have been left homeless and are lacking clean water, food and basic supplies amid a growing risk of cholera, diarrhoea, dehydration and malnutrition, UN agencies have also warned.

In the latest toll announced by the eastern authorities as of Wednesday, at least 3,893 people have been confirmed dead in the disaster. International aid groups have said 10,000 or more people may be missing or feared dead.

Hafez Obeid, the head of the Libyan forensic team in charge of handling the bodies of victims found in Derna, said the salinity of the water helps to preserve bodies, making the identification process easier than for corpses found on land.

“The issue right now is not much of the corpses that are being found in the sea but more so those found in land,” Mr Obeid told The National from Derna.

"We’re equipped with full PPC (personnal protective clothing) and equipment to deal with the bodies but the issue of disease is more concerning when it comes to those bodies that have been lying under the rubble. Mix that with the broken sewage systems and the mud, and there’s a legitimate concern for health right now.”

Water supply

Survivors of the Derna flood in the main city, as well as those residents living in neighbouring villages, said they have been concerned with the water supply that is connected with the desalination pipe from the Mediterranean Sea.

The main pipe is considered an essential part of the seawater desalination process in the city, responsible for providing fresh water to Derna and its surrounding areas, the Environmental Sanitation Affairs office said.

Hafez Obeid, head of the forensics team in Derna, awaits for the UAE marine rescue team to recover a car that fell into the port. Ismaeel Naar / The National
Hafez Obeid, head of the forensics team in Derna, awaits for the UAE marine rescue team to recover a car that fell into the port. Ismaeel Naar / The National

“It is expected that the analysis process will continue for several weeks, as water samples will be collected from various water sources and analysed in specialised laboratories, and appropriate measures will be taken based on the results of the analyses and the recommendations of experts,” the authority said.

During the storm, water surging down the steep and narrow Derna Valley had been contaminated from debris and rubble, from poor building structures that collapsed during the disaster.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says contaminated water is linked to the transmission of diseases like cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio.

A car is seen following floods in Derna, Libya. Reuters
A car is seen following floods in Derna, Libya. Reuters

Residents said for the past week, they have continued to depend solely on bottled drinking water that has been pouring in from neighbouring cities and international aid teams.

"For now there’s some tap water access in some of the undestroyed homes closer to the outskirts away from the city centre but we’re even afraid of taking showers because we know that the water supply from the desalination plant has been compromised," Mahmoud Al Sheikh said.

Over the past week, a United Nations inter-agency team assessed the affected areas and said that over 35,000 people displaced by the floods are currently residing in overcrowded camps and settlements in Derna province, where they have limited access to clean water and sanitation.

"The environmental situation remains challenging with the proliferation of disease vectors such as flies and mosquitoes. Stagnant water, particularly in Al Makhili, Derna and Soussa, is a breeding ground for mosquitoes and creates conditions conducive to the spread of malaria and waterborne diseases," the World Health Organisation said.

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Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20WonderTree%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20April%202016%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Muhammad%20Waqas%20and%20Muhammad%20Usman%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Karachi%2C%20Pakistan%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%2C%20and%20Delaware%2C%20US%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Special%20education%2C%20education%20technology%2C%20assistive%20technology%2C%20augmented%20reality%3Cbr%3EN%3Cstrong%3Eumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E16%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGrowth%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Grants%20from%20the%20Lego%20Foundation%2C%20UAE's%20Anjal%20Z%2C%20Unicef%2C%20Pakistan's%20Ignite%20National%20Technology%20Fund%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

Profile

Company: Justmop.com

Date started: December 2015

Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan

Sector: Technology and home services

Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai

Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month

Funding:  The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups. 

THE%20SPECS
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In numbers

- Number of children under five will fall from 681 million in 2017 to 401m in 2100

- Over-80s will rise from 141m in 2017 to 866m in 2100

- Nigeria will become the world’s second most populous country with 791m by 2100, behind India

- China will fall dramatically from a peak of 2.4 billion in 2024 to 732 million by 2100

- an average of 2.1 children per woman is required to sustain population growth

THE%20SWIMMERS
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Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

UAE SQUAD FOR ASIAN JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP

Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan

Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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TOURNAMENT INFO

Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia

UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

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The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Part three: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

The Specs

Engine 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

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US PGA Championship in numbers

Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.

To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.

Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.

4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.

In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.

For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.

Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.

Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.

Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.

10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.

11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.

12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.

13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.

14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.

15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.

16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.

17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.

18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).

Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key facilities
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  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
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  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
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  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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Updated: September 29, 2023, 5:49 AM`