Overview

• The Eastern Libyan Government is hosting a two-day conference in the flood-stricken cities of Derna and Benghazi, focusing on the reconstruction of these coastal cities decimated by a fatal flood in September.
• The conference, attended by 400 participants, many from international delegations or infrastructure development and housing companies, is divided into three focus areas: the environment, development, and future planning.
• These fatal floods, estimated to have claimed between 4,000 to over 11,000 lives, were caused by the collapse of two dilapidated dams in the mountains above Derna, which sent floodwaters roaring through the city center.
• There is widespread public mistrust in state institutions, both inside and outside of Libya, as these two dams had not been maintained for decades despite repeated warnings.
• Libya, an oil-rich country, has been divided between rival governments in its East and West for almost a decade, and the Western Libyan government was notably absent from this conference.