Flooded streets, damage in Libya as heavy rains paralyse capital

Heavy rains flooded the streets of Libyan capital Tripoli on Tuesday, submerging vehicles and killing a bank employee, according to his employer.

The government ordered public services to launch urgent operations to drain the floodwater, while security forces announced the closure of the capital's ring road.

Jumhouria Bank announced on Tuesday the death by electrocution of one of its employees as he was entering the bank's headquarters in Tripoli, as floodwaters submerged utility boxes.

To reduce the danger, the General Electricity Company decided to cut power in some Tripoli districts.

Videos circulating on social media platforms and in local media showed motorists managing at the last moment to scramble out of their cars as they fill with water.

Other buildings in the city centre were flooded, including the central hospital, where water entered the corridors, according to images shared on social media.

On Monday evening, the National Meteorological Centre had forecast heavy rainfall across the entire north of the country, issuing a warning to people living near wadis and in valleys.

Every summer, local authorities try to prepare city streets before the rains by clearing drainage networks and manholes, which are often clogged by sand blown in from the desert.

Despite these efforts, the streets are regularly flooded.

On Tuesday morning, municipal trucks and Tripoli's road services were hard at work on the capital's main thoroughfares, pumping up the mud and debris carried into the city by the torrents of water.