Libya Unexpected Floods Wiped Out Entire Family Trees

Clans in Derna that can trace their bloodlines back centuries lost scores of relatives in the catastrophe

A week after a deadly flood devastated Derna, Gaith Al Tashani, his sister and niece left the Libyan port city. As the only survivors in a 22-member family house, they couldn’t handle any more news about the dead.

Relatives in the larger Al Tashani clan believed more than 100 of its members were no longer alive, and as long as they were still in the city, the condolences kept on pouring in.