Libyan poet's warning message ahead of flash floods

Mustafa al-Trabelsi wrote a poem warning of the consequences of floods caused by government indifference in Libya, before he was killed in flash floods.

Poet Mustafa al-Trabelsi attended a meeting at the Derna House of Culture in eastern Libya on September 6 to discuss the risk of flash floods in the city and the situation of dams upstream of the river that flows through Derna.

A few days later, he wrote the poem The Rain, warning that when heavy rains fell they would "expose fraudulent contractors and incompetent governments".

Rescue workers search in a flooded area in Derna on September 14. Photo: AFP — Residents and rescue workers search in a flash flood area in Derna on September 14. Photo: *AFP*

"It will sweep away everything, the wings of birds and the fur of cats. The rain will awaken the valleys, shake up the huge dust and dry earth," he wrote. "The rain is a warning bell."

On the night of September 10, as floodwaters began to inundate the city of Derna due to heavy rains upstream, Mustafa wrote on Facebook: "The scene is terrifying and could turn into a disaster," and criticized the government for "being corrupt, claiming to be fully prepared but in reality not having any equipment, only a few rescue teams."

About two hours later, he wrote his final message on Facebook, calling on people to "stand firm until the floodwaters overwhelm us."

Derna, a coastal city controlled by the government of warlord Khalifa Haftar, began experiencing flooding on September 10. A day later, two dams upstream of the river that runs through Derna burst, unleashing a “tsunami-like” flash flood up to 7 meters high that crashed into the city, destroying homes and sweeping everything out to sea. Al-Trabelsi was one of more than 11,000 people killed in the flash floods.

Libya flash floods 'like 7m high tsunami' — The moment flash floods hit the city of Derna, eastern Libya. Video : *Mojo*

People in Derna and across Libya are sharing his warning poem and are coming together to support the victims in Derna. Residents of Misrata are offering free accommodation to those displaced, a woman is offering to adopt a newborn baby who lost his parents in Derna, and groups of mothers are offering to breastfeed newborns and orphans.

Khaled Mattawa, the Libyan writer who translated al-Trabelsi's poem into English, said the kindness shown by people across the country was "touching".

The North African country of Libya has been engulfed in war for more than 10 years, with factions vying for power. The eastern region, where Derna is located, is controlled by Haftar's alliance, but is not recognized by the international community, making aid efforts and communication around the disaster zone even more difficult.

The constant conflict has also caused the authorities here to neglect the infrastructure and two dams built from clay and boulders since the 1970s. These dams were not invested in and repaired due to the war, so when the amount of water flowing from the western mountains was too large, they quickly eroded and broke, causing about 30 million cubic meters of water to flow into Derna.

The Libyan Red Crescent said on September 14 that 11,300 people were confirmed dead in the disaster, with nearly 2,000 bodies swept out to sea. Officials in the city of Derna believe the death toll could reach 20,000.

On the streets of Derna, occasional cheers rang out as rescuers discovered survivors, but mostly they found bodies buried under the rubble. On the shore where many victims were swept away, Turkish rescuers in wetsuits searched for bodies amid the debris floating from the devastated city.