On September 8, a catastrophic earthquake struck Morocco's picturesque tourist destination, Marrakesh killing over 2900 people. A few days later, floods engulfed the Libyan city of Derna, situated along the Eastern coast, leaving devastation in their wake.
Twelve years have passed since 2011, a year that witnessed a political earthquake in several Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries. Commonly referred to as the "Arab Spring," it brought about sweeping changes in long-standing autocratic regimes. However, contrary to optimistic expectations, the Arab Spring yielded tangible results only in Tunisia.
Libya, in particular, felt the adverse effects as this movement veered off course, and with NATO’s intervention, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi was toppled. Subsequently, Libya has been plagued by political instability, lack of order, and persistent conflict. The nation found itself divided, with two competing governments--one in Tripoli and the other in Tobruk, in the East--vying for power.
The earthquake in Morocco elicited sympathy from neighbouring countries, prompting a willingness to provide assistance and disaster relief. However, the Moroccan administration was somewhat reticent about receiving foreign aid. In some cases, accepting aid is perceived as a sign of capitulation and vulnerability. During crises, leaders often humble themselves for the greater good of their afflicted populace.
This underscores the intrinsic connection between disasters and politics. As one astute observer noted, earthquakes themselves do not claim lives; it is the collapse of poorly constructed buildings that leads to casualties. Behind shoddy building designs lie the shadow of corruption and mismanagement.
In Libya, the scale of the disaster has been nothing short of horrific. A deluge of Biblical proportions, resulting from six months' worth of rainfall in just 24 hours, destroyed two dams, ravaged an entire town, claiming the lives of over 11,000 people.
According to Reuters, the head of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) asserted on September 14 that the casualties resulting from the Libyan floods, in what can be described as a failed state, could have been prevented had there been a functioning meteorological service capable of issuing warnings.
Speaking in Geneva, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas noted that Libya's main challenge in managing the aftermath of the floods, which had claimed thousands of lives, was the fact that the government was "not functioning normally."
He stated: "If they had been a normally operating meteorological service, they could have issued warnings. The emergency management authorities would have been able to carry out evacuations, and we could have avoided most of the human casualties."
Describing the governing situation as "not functioning normally" is a significant understatement.
The secretary-general of the WMO had previously engaged with Libyan authorities in an attempt to assist in the reform of the meteorological system. However, these efforts faced numerous challenges, primarily due to security threats.
The global and regional response to the Libyan disaster was swift. Rescue teams arrived from Egypt, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Qatar. Turkey dispatched a ship equipped to establish two field hospitals. Italy sent three planes laden with supplies and personnel, alongside two navy ships, although offloading proved challenging due to the debris-choked port in Derna. The World Health Organization (WHO) pledged to release $2 million from its emergency fund to support the victims, characterizing the floods as a "calamity of epic proportions."
Nonetheless, the effectiveness of rescue efforts is severely hampered by political fault lines within a country of seven million people, marked by intermittent warfare and the absence of a government with nationwide reach since the end of Gaddafi regime in 2011.
An internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU), led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, holds sway in the west, while a parallel administration, under the control of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army, governs the east, where Derna is located. Over the years, Derna has been under the rule of various armed Islamist groups, including a period when it fell under the influence of the Islamic State.
It has since been uneasily integrated into Haftar's domain. To investigate the dam breaches responsible for the worst natural disaster in Libya's modern history, a commission of inquiry has been established.
The earthquake in Morocco has had adverse repercussions on tourism, a vital sector for the Moroccan economy. Official sources maintain that Marrakesh will still host the annual IMF and World Bank meetings in October.
However, Morocco's reluctance to accept foreign aid, coupled with the failed state of Libya, where natural disasters appear more man-made than natural in their consequences, underscores the intricate connection between politics and disasters.
The nationwide outpouring of sympathy and the concerted national effort to distribute relief to Derna's disaster victims offer a glimmer of hope for national reconciliation. Nevertheless, the formidable fault lines within the country suggest that overcoming these challenges will not be easy.
For Bangladesh, the two disasters offer valuable lessons in disaster-preparedness and governance.
Habibul Haque Khondker is a sociology professor at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi who previously taught at the National University of Singapore.