There have been many explanations in Libya regarding the mysterious ground cracks that appeared in the Al-Subaia area in the west of the country, while citizens await the issuance of official clarifications.
Indeed, three parties are currently preparing reports on the matter: the Environmental Sanitation Department of the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Environment, and also an administrative committee formed to follow up on the groundwater phenomenon in Zliten, which had a special visit to the area, which is not more than 40 kilometers south of the capital, Tripoli.
Mysterious cracks
Among the olive trees for which Al-Subaia farms are famous, ground cracks extended, most of them reaching a length of 15 meters, and some of them extending up to 200 meters, and their maximum width is 4 meters, but their depth is not large, and does not exceed more than half a meter, as the Agricultural Police Service explained.
The agency received reports from several owners of these farms, so it sent its members to inspect the phenomenon that had not been recorded before in the place, which was announced by the Al-Subai’a Local Council, which confirmed that one of the farmers confirmed that these cracks had begun to appear on his land since the year 2023, but they had begun to expand in the recent period.
Morocco scenario
A state of panic broke out among the people of the region as they awaited the issuance of official reports, while Libyan pages on social media began circulating testimonies from Morocco after the devastating earthquake that struck the Al Haouz province there in September 2023, causing the death of about 3,000 people.
At that time, media reports spoke of the appearance of huge craters in villages in Morocco reaching a depth of 60 meters, which geological experts at the time linked to the movement of tectonic plates.
Here, the geophysical engineer, Hakim Al-Masalati, points out that the western region contains the largest fault in the country, which is the “Aziziya fault,” with a length of about 300 kilometers, which makes it vulnerable to tremors and earthquakes as well.
The rift extends in the areas southwest of the capital, Tripoli, and includes the Al-Subaia area, where mysterious ground cracks have appeared, which could explain those cracks due to the movement of plates.
underground water
But another reason was put forward by experts regarding this phenomenon. Not far from Al-Subay’a, there is another phenomenon that has disturbed Libyans, which is the rise in groundwater levels in Zliten, where water comes out of the ground to submerge vast areas, causing the displacement of people.
After the authorities first noticed the cracks, a team from the committee concerned with monitoring the groundwater phenomenon in Zliten immediately went to Al-Subay’a to examine the land there, as the head of the committee, Saleh Al-Sadiq, explains to the “Sky News Arabia” website.
The committee formed 3 teams to examine the ground cracks, and initial assessments showed that all of them were “superficial and not deep,” and work is still underway to prepare a report on the situation, according to Al-Sadiq.
However, the committee’s current assessment is that the cracks were not the result of a rise in the groundwater level on the farms, but rather the result of a “ground subsidence,” as suggested by Al-Sadiq, who points out that the matter requires further study.
