Whole families drowned in Libya's flood as dams burst

The wall of water several stories high smashed into apartment buildings, drowning entire families in minutes.

One man lost at least 13 members of his extended family. Fadellalah has yet to hear about the fate of another 20, several days after two dams burst above the Libyan coastal city of Derna, unleashing epic floods that killed thousands, wiped out neighborhoods and washed some of the dead into the sea.

Thousands of others like Fadellalah are frantically trying to find out who survived the rain-swollen rampage.

As a powerful storm bore down on his hometown, the information technology worker in Libya’s capital of Tripoli called his family Sunday to urge them to move to higher ground.

“No one expected this,” said Fadelallah, who asked that his surname not be used because he fears reprisal from government officials and armed groups who could view his story as criticism of their efforts.