The recent deadly storm and flooding in Derna, Libya demonstrates how infrastructure, landscapes, and climate plays a role in determining how disastrous a storm could be. In a recent New York Times article, Blum Center flood expert Dr. Sanders offered some explanation of how the landscape itself can effect the degree of disaster experienced. He explains that, because Derna is situated on an alluvial fan, heavy rain can cause fast moving flooding in a short amount of time and that those floods will carry debris and sediment which itself will cause severe damage to anything in the path of the flood.
Read the full New York Times article here.