From The Watchers,
Medicane “Marquesa”, also known as Storm Daniel, made a devastating landfall in Libya on September 10, 2023, resulting in severe flash flooding, especially in the country’s northeast. The storm brought with it extremely heavy rainfall, leading to catastrophic flooding and a tragic death toll of over 11 000 people, with 10 000 still missing.
Medicane “Marquesa” began as a low-pressure system spinning in the central Mediterranean, causing heavy rains and major flooding in central Greece. By September 8, 2023, it developed a well-organized convective pattern, meeting the criteria for designation as a medistorm. The Mediterranean Cyclone Center (MCC) named the storm Marquesa at 12:00 UTC on the same day.
The cyclone then set its sights on Libya, slowing down and lingering off the Libyan coast on September 9. Satellite data confirmed Marquesa’s landfall just north of Benghazi around 01:30 UTC on September 10, boasting maximum sustained winds of 95 km/h (59 mph) and a central pressure of 995 hPa.
The aftermath was catastrophic. Northeastern Libya, a region that typically sees an average annual rainfall of 25 mm (1 inch), was inundated with up to 406 mm (16 inches) of rain in 24 hours to September 10. During the same period, 240 mm (9.4 inches) of rain fell in Marawah in the District of Jabal al Akhdar, and 170 mm (6.7 inches) fell in Al Abraq in the Derna District. According to figures from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the city of Derna recorded 73 mm (2.9 inches) of rain in 24 hours to September 11.
To put this in perspective, Libya receives an average annual rainfall of about 30 mm (1.18 inches). The wettest months are December, January and February with 13.26 mm (0.5 inches), followed by September, October and November with 8.28 mm (0.3 inches), March, April and May with 7.48 mm (0.29 inches) and June, July and August with 1.83 mm (0.07 inches)....
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