Lebanon: Emergency Response to the Beirut Explosion – LEB201

While Lebanon is already struggling from the financial crisis, economic contractions and the USD devaluation, and hosting large number of refugees. A warehouse at the Beirut Port containing large quantities of ammonium nitrate exploded on 4 August 2020. After an initial explosion, a subsequent blast caused widespread damage, with reports of damage more than 20 km from the port area. Hundreds of buildings including grain silos storing around 85 percent of the country’s grain, and numerous residential places have been damaged or destroyed, including many healthcare facilities and several major hospitals in the Greater Beirut area, due to the blast.  Official reports estimate that more than 160 people were killed, over 5,000 injured, and more than 300,000 people left homeless in the Greater Beirut area/Mount Lebanon.

LEB201-Lebanon Emergency Response