Aging dams, political instability, poor human decisions and climate change: Recipe for human disaster

Manoochehr Shirzaei, Farshid Vahedifard, Nitheshnirmal Sadhasivam, Leonard Ohenhen, Oluwaseyi Dasho, Ashutosh Tiwari, Susanna Werth, Mohammed Azhar, Yunxia Zhao, Robert J. Nicholls, Amir Aghakouchak

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Abstract

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.
Original languageEnglish
Article number5
Journalnpj Natural Hazards
Volume2
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Jan 2025

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