H2H Network: Supporting the humanitarian response to the floods in Libya

Following the catastrophic floods in Libya, the H2H Network has activated its fund to enable five members to provide much-needed support services to the humanitarian response in the country. These services address issues related to information management and analysis, community engagement, accountability, as well as security and programme support. As part of the H2H-funded service package, these services are freely available to all responders, and project activities will be completed by the end of February 2024.

The H2H Network’s Executive Director Kim Scriven said: “The floods caused by Storm Daniel in Libya have had a disastrous impact, increasing both immediate and long-term humanitarian needs in a country already in the midst of protracted conflict. H2H Members’ services have the potential to address key gaps related to the analysis of critical humanitarian needs, enhanced communication with and accountability to affected communities, as well as management of security risks and community perceptions that constrain the humanitarian space.”

With their services ideally placed to address the gaps in the humanitarian response to the crisis, the five funded H2H Members are now strengthening the response:

CDAC Network will work to improve communication and accountability to the affected population by analyzing the information and communication ecosystem. It will support inter-agency initiatives to define priority actions for accountability within the aid response.

ACAPS will provide humanitarian actors with in-depth analysis to increase contextual understanding of the current and future impact of Storm Daniel, to support decision-making and planning.

IMPACT Initiatives will provide information to guide humanitarian actors in flood-hit areas and assess the needs of flood-affected populations to inform targeting and prioritization.

RedR UK will support first responders and local engineers with training initiatives on structural assessment to enhance current and future disaster response capacities.

Insecurity Insight will conduct social media monitoring and geopolitical analysis for the protection of the humanitarian space to strengthen predictive and mitigation capacities within the aid sector.

Background:

On 10 September 2023, Storm Daniel devastated northeastern Libya with torrential rains and floods. Derna was particularly hard hit after two dams broke upstream, causing flash floods to sweep through the city and destroying close to 2,000 buildings. As many as 30,000 people have been reported missing with a rising death toll which was initially estimated at 5,000 across the country. Critical infrastructure, including healthcare, electricity, buildings, roads and telecommunication, has been significantly damaged.

The humanitarian response to the crisis lacks available data and analysis on pre-existing needs, response capacity, coping mechanisms, and future vulnerabilities, partly due to access issues. Improved information and coordination for communication with the affected population, including language inclusion, is also needed.

The H2H Network supports its members with various services, including the H2H Fund, a way to fast-track collaboration and support to affected contexts that is exclusively available to H2H Members. The H2H Fund has previously been activated to support the humanitarian response to Cyclone Idai in Mozambique, Ebola epidemic in DR Congo, security crisis in Burkina Faso, pandemic crisis in Vanuatu, conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Covid-19 pandemic, conflict escalation in the occupied Palestinian Territories, earthquake in Haiti, humanitarian crisis in Tigray, Ethiopia, flooding in Pakistan, drought in the Horn of Africa, the earthquakes in Türkiye-Syria and the conflict in Sudan.

This H2H Fund is supported by UK aid – from the British people. The H2H Network is also supported by USAID, Sida and the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).