Survivors in Derna, Libya, are sifting through the wreckage following a devastating flood that struck the city center.

The catastrophe occurred when a powerful storm caused dams to burst, sending a torrent through the city's seasonal riverbed, sweeping away multi-story buildings with families inside. While official death tolls vary, thousands are confirmed dead, with thousands more listed as missing.

Derna's Mayor, Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi, expressed concerns about the potential for disease outbreaks due to the large number of bodies under rubble and in the water.

Usama Al Husadi, a distraught driver, has been desperately searching for his wife and five children since the disaster.

Wali Eddin Mohamed Adam, a Sudanese brick factory worker, lost nine co-workers and witnessed many others losing their families in the deluge.

International rescue teams from Egypt, Tunisia, the UAE, Turkey, and Qatar rushed to provide aid. Turkey dispatched a ship with field hospital equipment, while Italy sent planes and navy ships loaded with supplies and personnel.

However, the relief efforts faced challenges due to the political divisions in Libya, a country plagued by ongoing conflict since Muammar Gaddafi's overthrow in 2011.

Libya currently operates with a Government of National Unity (GNU) based in Tripoli and a parallel administration in the east under the control of the Libyan National Army.

Despite these divisions, a delegation of GNU ministers headed to Benghazi to show solidarity and discuss relief efforts.

The scale of the devastation in Derna is evident from elevated vantage points, with the city center reduced to a wide, flat area of mud and water. The beach is strewn with debris, including clothes, toys, furniture, and personal belongings swept out of homes. Streets are covered in deep mud, littered with uprooted trees, and filled with hundreds of wrecked cars. Some vehicles are even lodged on upper floors of damaged buildings.

Despite the tragedy, stories of resilience and solidarity emerge. Mohamed Mohsen Bujmila, an engineer, survived with his wife but lost his sister. He discovered the bodies of her husband and son, as well as two strangers in his apartment. Nearby, an Egyptian search-and-rescue team worked to recover the body of his neighbor, Aunt Khadija.