A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Morocco on Sept. 8, 2023, causing widespread damage in mountain villages. Three days later, an unusually severe Mediterranean storm caused two poorly maintained Libyan dams to collapse, resulting in massive floods in and around the port city of Derna.
By Sept. 19, more than 3,000 people had died in Morocco, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. And the World Health Organization was saying that nearly 4,000 people had died in Libya, with another 10,000 missing – casualties that are unprecedented for a flood in Africa. More than 46,000 Libyans have become displaced, according to the International Organization for Migration.
