Wadi Derna

{{Short description|Ephemeral river bed in Libya}} {{Infobox river | name = Wadi Derna | native_name =  | name_other = | name_etymology = | nickname =  | image = File:Derna 4.jpg | image_size = 300 | image_caption = Wadi Derna, January 2010 | image_alt =  | map = File:Wadi Derna watershed.png | map_size = 300 | map_caption = Wadi Derna drainage basin ([https://mghydro.com/watersheds/shared/BE4508.html Interactive map]) | map_alt = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_caption= | pushpin_map_alt =  | subdivision_type1 = | subdivision_name1 = | subdivision_type2 = | subdivision_name2 = | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name4 = | subdivision_type5 = | subdivision_name5 =  | length = | width_min = | width_avg = | width_max = | depth_min = | depth_avg = | depth_max = | discharge1_location= | discharge1_min = | discharge1_avg = | discharge1_max =  | source1 = | source1_location = | source1_coordinates=  | source1_elevation = | mouth = Mediterranean Sea | mouth_location = | mouth_coordinates = {{coord|32.7672|22.6514|format=dms|type:river_region:LY|display=inline,title}} | mouth_elevation = | progression = | river_system = | basin_size = | basin_landmarks = | basin_population = | tributaries_left = | tributaries_right = | waterbodies = | waterfalls = Derna waterfalls | bridges = | ports = | custom_label = | custom_data = | extra = |cities=Derna}} The '''Wadi Derna''' is a river valley in Libya which leads down from the Jebel Akhdar mountains to the port city of Derna. Like many other wadis in North Africa, it is an intermittent riverbed that for much of its length contains water only when heavy rain occurs.<ref name="WP Derna floods">{{cite news |last1=Mellen |first1=Ruby |last2=Karklis |first2=Laris |last3=Granados |first3=Samuel |last4=Ledur |first4=Júlia |last5=Stillman |first5=Dan |title=Mapping why Libya's floods were so deadly |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/12/deadly-libya-flooding-cause/ |access-date=13 September 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=12 September 2023 |language=en}}</ref> It is {{convert|75|km|mi}} long<ref>{{cite book |author1=C.B.M. McBurney |author2=R.W. Hey |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RyQ9AAAAIAAJ&dq=Derna+waterfalls+-wikipedia&pg=PA100 |via=books.google.co.uk |title=Prehistory and Pleistocene Geology in Cyrenaican Libya |chapter =VII, Tufaceous deposits |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521056243 |date=1955 |access-date=2023-09-14}}</ref> and drains a drainage basin of 575 km{{superscript|2}}.

==Derna waterfalls== The Derna waterfalls are located in Wadi Derna<ref name="WP Derna floods"/> about 7 km (4.3 mi) to the south of Derna.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/sep/12/destruction-in-derna-how-floods-ravaged-libyan-port-city |title=Destruction in Derna: how floods ravaged Libyan port city |author1=Alex Olorenshaw |author2=Faisal Ali |author3=Harvey Symons |author4=Glenn Swann |work=www.theguardian.com |date=2023-09-12 |access-date=2023-09-14}}</ref>

== 2023 Derna catastrophe == {{Main articles|Derna dam collapses}} In September 2023, against the backdrop of the civil war, torrential rainfall from Storm Daniel led to the collapse of two dams—the Derna dam and the downstream Abu Mansour dam—along the river, causing catastrophic flooding in the city of Derna and killing least 5,923 people.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-14 |title=Death toll hits 11,300 in Libyan city destroyed by floods |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/libya-floods-death-toll-derna-rcna105001 |access-date=2023-09-15 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref name="April 17, 2024 update">{{cite web |title=Libya Assistance Overview, April 2024 |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/libya/libya-assistance-overview-april-2024 |website=ReliefWeb |publisher=USAID |access-date=2 May 2024}}</ref><ref name="RWupdate7">{{cite web |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/libya/libya-flood-update-flash-update-no7-23-september-2023-4pm-local-time-enar |title=Libya: Flood update Flash Update No.7 (23 September 2023) (as of 4pm local time) [EN/AR] |work=reliefweb.int |date=24 September 2023 |access-date=26 September 2023}}</ref><ref name="cnnnew">{{cite web |last1=Akbarzai |first1=Salih |last2=Roth |first2=Richard |title=UN revises previous high Libya death toll |date=17 September 2023 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/17/africa/un-revises-libya-death-toll/index.html |publisher=CNN |access-date=18 September 2023 |archive-date=18 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230918042804/https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/17/africa/un-revises-libya-death-toll/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It was one of the deadliest dam failures in history.

==References== {{reflist}} {{Commons|}}

Derna