Everything You Need to Know About:
The Beirut Blast
On the evening of Tuesday, August 4th, Beirut- the capital city of Lebanon- was rocked by an intense blast from the port of Beirut. The blast was heard as far away as the island of Cyprus, nearly 240 kilometres away.
It was caused by the explosion of a little over 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which had been improperly stored in a warehouse at the port. Local reports stated that the warehouse containing the ammonium nitrate was for fireworks, and that the ammonium nitrate had been stored there for six years. Officials have blamed this unsafe storage of these highly flammable materials for the blast.
Ammonium nitrate is a highly explosive chemical compound that requires proper storage to avoid accidents and has certain regulations imposed on its storage. The compound is used mainly in making explosives or ammoniacal agricultural fertilisers.
The blast happened at approximately 6:08 p.m. Many residents posted footage on social media, of tall columns of smoke moments before the blast. Several flashes were seen through the thick smoke- possibly smaller blasts just before the blast, which reportedly triggered an earthquake of magnitude 3.5 on the Richter scale.
As of 11:35 p.m. GMT, the death toll is 78, and is expected to rise as more people are recovered from the rubble. More than 4000 people have been injured. The government has declared a two-week state of emergency, with a three-day mourning period and the release of 100 billion lira ($66 million) in emergency funds.
Ships including the Italian cruise ship, The Oriental Queen, as well as an UNFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) ship were damaged, with several of the UNFIL personnel left wounded. Many injured peacekeepers have been shifted to nearby hospitals.
Balconies and shutters collapsed, and glass windows have been shattered- reportedly, as far as two kilometres away. Hospitals throughout the city are at capacity, and some are even turning away injured patients. Lebanon Red Cross has promised to send all available emergency vehicles and ambulances from North and South Lebanon, as well as Bakker. The army has blocked off the port in case of another blast and to prevent further destruction.
See footage of the blast and its aftermath here:
(T/W: Contains potentially upsetting images.)
"There was still smoke going up into the sky late into the evening. The whole city was black. It was very hard to walk around, people were covered in blood. I saw an 86-year-old woman being treated by a doctor who had just run out of his home with a first aid kit. Cars were entirely smashed by rocks. These old-style houses with big cuts of rock had just fallen down on the street."
-Sunniva Rose, Journalist, The BBC.
"When the world stopped cracking open, I couldn't see at first because of the blood running down my face. After blinking the blood from my eyes, I tried to take in the sight of my apartment turned into a demolition site. My yellow front door had been hurled on top of my dining table. I couldn't find my passport, or sturdy shoes.
-Vivian Yee, correspondent for the New York Times.
Read more on what survivors had to say here:
Lebanon, as a country, is fighting off the Covid-19 pandemic, political unrest, economic crisis and famine all at the same time.
Since October 17th, 2019, peaceful protests have taken place demanding change and improvement. These protests- called 'thawra', meaning 'revolution' in Arabic, were triggered by multiple factors, ranging from corrupt politics and electoral fraud to inadequate access to water and electricity, and the lack of basic services such as waste management.
Since then, unemployment rates have skyrocketed, national debt has increased, and the Lebanese pound has lost over 86% of its value. Currently, Lebanon is has the third-highest inflation rate in the world,(surpassed by Zimbabwe and Sudan, as well as Venezuela). Basic necessities and supplies have become expensive- on average, food prices have risen by approximately 55%. The country is on the brink of starvation, induced by this economic crisis.
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic is insurmountable, as people with compromised immune systems from the famine are more vulnerable to the predicted second wave of the coronavirus in Lebanon. Medical institutions are severely affected by the economic crisis, laying off hundreds of workers. American University of Beirut Medical Centre (AUMBC) has laid off 25% of their staff.
Lebanon is now one of the most expensive countries in the Middle East, with a population of 68.5 lakhs (6.85 million), as well as 15 lakh (1.5 million) refugees of the Syrian war.
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Written/ Compiled by Nikita.
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Very informative post!
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
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