The deputy mayor of Derna, Ahmed Madroud, has told Al Jazeera that “at least 20 percent of the city has been destroyed”.

He explained by phone that the reason behind the devastation was related to the weak infrastructure in the city and the fact that many buildings were clustered in narrow streets located close to the river.

“When the river overflowed its banks, it just took all the buildings with it, and the families that were in it,” he said.