Changes in Beirut due to blast

 

On the afternoon of 4 August 2020, two blasts occurred at the port of the city of Beirut the capital of Lebanon The second explosion was extremely powerful, and caused at least 177 deaths, 6,000 injuries, and US$10–15 billion in property damage, leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. The event was linked to about 2,750 tonnes (3,030 short tones; 2,710 long tones of ammonium nitrate – equivalent to around 1.2 kilotonnes of  TNT(5.0 TJ) – which had been confiscated by the Lebanese government from the abandoned ship MV RHORUS and then stored in the port without proper safety measures for six years.

The explosion was detected by the united states geological survey as a seismic event of magnitude 3.3; was felt in Turkey SYria Isryal and parts of Europe; and was heard in Cyprus more than 250 km (160 mi) away. It is considered to be one of the most powerful nuclear explosion in the history

The Lebanese government declared a two-week state of emergency in response to the disaster. In its aftermath, protests erupted across Lebanon against the government for their failure to prevent the explosions, joining a larger series of protests which have been taking place in the country since 2019.

178 people were confirmed dead with an additional 30 missing, and more than 6,000 people were injured. Hundreds of foreigners from at least 22 countries were among the casualties.

The explosion overturned cars and stripped steel-framed buildings of their cladding. Within the port area, the explosion destroyed a section of shoreline and left a crater roughly 124 m (407 ft) in diameter and 43 m (141 ft) in depth. Witnesses said homes as far as 10 kilometers (6 miles) away were damaged by the blast,  and up to 300,000 people were left homeless by the explosion. The grain silos were destroyed, exacerbating food shortages caused by the Covid 19  and a sewere finalcial cricis About 15,000 tonnes (14,800 long tons; 16,500 short tons) of grain were destroyed, leaving the country with less than a month's worth of grain in reserve.

The damage from the blast affected over half of Beirut, with the likely cost above $15 billion and insured losses at around $3 billion. Approximately ninety percent of the hotels in the city were damaged and three hospitals completely destroyed, while two more suffered damage.Dozens of injured people brought to nearby hospitals could not be admitted because of the damage to the hospitals. Windows and other installations of glass across the city were shattered.