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Hurricane Daniel has claimed thousands of lives in the Middle East. (Photo: Reuters)
JAKARTA – Hurricane Daniel which hit Libya caused two dams to flood and collapse, killing 2 thousand people. Thousands of other people were also declared missing.
The worst affected area was the city of Derna which was completely destroyed and 6,000 people were reported missing. Before hitting Libya, Hurricane Daniel first stopped at Türkiye and Greece. Thunderstorms, winds and floods resulted in 26 people dying and 2 others missing.
In the Gaza Strip, Hurricane Daniel which arrived on Wednesday (13/9/2023) was no less deadly. Hurricane Daniel caused flooding in residential areas and streets. For more than seven hours, the Gaza Strip was hit by heavy rain and thunder.
Hurricane Daniel was listed as the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded in the world since Cyclone Nargis in 2008.
In a year, Hurricane Daniel usually occurs 1-3 times in the western Mediterranean and in the area stretching between the Ionian Sea and the coast of North Africa.
Hurricane Daniel emerged as a result of the Omega block, because a high pressure zone was sandwiched between two low pressure zones. Due to the short-lived and sudden nature of hurricanes, hurricane preparation is minimal.
So did minimal anticipation make the impact of Hurricane Daniel so great or was its impact exacerbated by changes in Mediterranean weather patterns as a result of climate damage?
For months this summer, the region has been hit by an unprecedented heat wave. Scientists say the heatwave is increasing sea surface temperatures, which could encourage the formation of tropical Mediterranean-like cyclones, or medicanes.
“While there is no official link yet regarding the role of climate change in making Hurricane Daniel more intense, it can be said that Mediterranean sea surface temperatures were well above average throughout the summer,” said Dr Karsten Haustein, a climate scientist at Leipzig University, quoted by the Guardian.
“This certainly applies to areas where Hurricane Daniel could form and wreak havoc in Greece and now Libya. Warmer water not only fuels these storms in terms of rainfall intensity, but also makes them more violent.”