On Sept 10, 2023, northeastern Libya was hit by catastrophic floods caused by Storm Daniel that have killed 4333 people and left many thousands more missing.  Libya has been afflicted by a civil war and political instability for more than 10 years. WHO designated Libya as a grade 2 health emergency country.  The north African country was unprepared for the region's worst natural disaster to date, as were many other middle-income countries in the area.  More than a decade of civil war has ravaged Libya's health-care system. Primary health-care facilities across the country are already short of specialists and medical supplies. During the floods, 101 health-care workers lost their lives in eastern Libya, adding further burden to the country.

In addition to the tragic death toll, Libya's primary concern lies in the effects of these floods on public health. Preliminary data from our research team showed Escherichia coli water contamination in samples from groundwater sources. In addition, 55 children suffered from waterborne diseases after consuming contaminated water in Derna, the city most severely affected by the floods.  Although there is an increased risk of contracting infectious diseases compared with non-infectious diseases through certain mechanisms, data show that the main cause of mortality after natural disasters is non-infectious diseases.  Therefore, prevention and control measures should focus on maintaining health-care system integrity, effective risk assessment strategies and emergency preparedness, capacity building, reinforcement of surveillance, and immunisation programmes.