Libya: Flood Response Humanitarian Update (as of 15 December 2023) [EN/AR]
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This report is produced by OCHA Libya in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 29 November to 15 December 2023. The next report will be issued on or around 15 January 2024.
HIGHLIGHTS
• An inter-agency mission visited the most affected municipalities of Derna, Albayda, Sousa and Shahat. It identified rehabilitation of WASH infrastructure as the main residual humanitarian need.
• Response under the Flash Appeal for the Libya flood response of 14 September will be extended until the end of March 2024, shifting the focus of response modalities to cash-based interventions and light rehabilitation.
• Libyan authorities have started providing compensation payments between 20,000 and 100,000 LYD (about 4,000 to 21,000 USD).
• A diarrhoea outbreak in Albayda was linked to contaminated water sources but is receding thanks to extensive awareness campaigns.
SITUATION OVERVIEW
From 11-13 December 2023, an inter-agency mission visited the most affected municipalities of Derna, Albayda, Sousa and Shahat, to verify response, assess accountability and feedback mechanisms, identify remaining needs, and inform future interventions through coordination with communities and local authorities.
In Derna, access to drinking water was highlighted as a top priority. NRC started rehabilitation of the main water pipe this week. The inter-agency mission visited a borehole rehabilitated by UNICEF and spoke to people benefitting from this intervention. Local authorities highlighted urgent needs to install additional water pumps for two boreholes, as well as to clean sewage pipes, as the functioning water treatment plants are not sufficient to treat enough polluted water.
In Sousa and Shahat, the flood has further damaged infrastructure, in particular the water and sewerage system, which were already only partly functional before. Municipal councils developed rehabilitation plans and started implementation of the most urgent activities but lack funding commitments from Libyan or international sources.
In Albayda, local water providers report that 28 out of 220 boreholes in the municipality require rehabilitation, and a further 41 boreholes are functional, but the water is contaminated. The water pipe connecting the Sousa desalination plant with Albayda is damaged over a length of 60 meters. The recent diarrhoea outbreak is receding, with reducing case numbers seen. Testing of specimens collected from diarrheal cases confirm infection by bacterial pathogen as E. coli and parasites as amoebiasis. The outbreak highlighted an urgent need for increased water quality testing. Despite significant humanitarian response in the health sector, the lack of medical staff, medical supplies and specific medications remain. While six families are still living in one collective shelter/hotel, the majority of internally displaced persons (IDPs) stays with the host community.
All municipal councils raised the severe overcrowding of schools as a major concern. According to them six schools in Derna, two schools in Sousa and three schools in Albayda need rehabilitation, due to flood and pre-flood damages combined. Other schools have limited classrooms and furniture, partly due to flood effects. While humanitarian education partners have provided some support on the ground, they are currently not permitted to access schools for further independent assessments to implementation.
The Libyan Prime Minister’s Office started to provide compensation to flood-affected families of 20,000, 50,000 or 100,000 LYD, based on the severity of damage to houses and assets, including livestock. In Derna, to date about 3,000 households received compensations. In Sousa, to date 439 out of 1,700 households registered received the compensations, in Shahat 567 out of 1,180, and in Albayda 1,922 out of 2,100. In addition, local authorities provided one-off cash for rent grants to IDPs as incentive to leave collective sites in schools. All IDPs left the Technical College in Derna have left, and reportedly some -but not all- 25,000 LYD. In Albayda, remaining IDPs left a collective site in a hotel and received 20,000 LYD.
Based on the last epidemic situation report from 7 December 2023, the cumulative number of diarrhoea cases reported from the eastern region is 11,326. The situation has stabilized as diarrhoea cases decreased especially in Albayda municipality. The weekly numbers show a significant decrease compared to previous weeks, which can be attributed to various awareness campaigns, notably, an intensive campaign conducted by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) from November 25 to December 1, targeting schools and mosques.
A review of existing mechanisms to ensure Accountability to Affected People (AAP) shows that community feedback mechanisms (CFM) are in place in most geographical and thematic areas. However, they are underutilized, with only a small percentage of flood-affected people reached with humanitarian assistance being aware of such mechanisms. Among those aware, there is reluctance to use them, as people do not trust the confidentiality of the mechanisms, fear negative consequences of using them, and prefer to seek support from authorities, rather than international organizations.