Just in: Libya floods disaster could have been avoided – UN explains

The United Nations says most of the massive death tolls that came from the Libya floods could have been avoided.

The head of the UN World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas told journalists the country could have issued warnings and evacuated people where needed.

“Emergency management forces would have been able to carry out the evacuation of the people, and we could have avoided most of the human casualties,” the AFP news agency quotes him as saying.

The mayor of the eastern city of Derna estimates between 18,000 and 20,000 people have died

Libya is currently splitted between two rival governments since a NATO-backed uprising toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The political division has complicated rescue operations in one of the country’s most challenging periods in several years.

The heaviest damage was caused by a disastrous flood triggered by the breakdown of two dams on the Wadi Derna river, which runs through the city.

According to experts, the dams were most likely built from dumped and compacted earth or rocks, which are not as sturdy as concrete and are more prone to give way when overfilled.