2020 Beirut explosion
Coordinates: 33°54′04″N 35°31′05″E / 33.9010°N 35.5181°E
On 4 August 2020, an explosion happened in the city of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon.[1][2][3]
| The aftermath of the explosion. The aftermath of the explosion. | |
| Date | 4 August 2020 |
|---|---|
| Location | Beirut, Lebanon |
| Coordinates | 33°54′10.62″N 35°31′4.04″E / 33.9029500°N 35.5177889°E |
| Injuries | 7,500+ |
| Missing | 9+ |
| Property damage | $10-15 billion |
|
The blast happened at the Port of Beirut and left at least 220 people dead (with the total expected to go higher), at least 7,500 injured, and many more missing.[4][5][6][7][8] The Governor of Beirut, Marwan Abboud, said over 300,000 people lost their homes.[8]
It is said that the explosion may have been caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. Ammonium nitrate is a chemical substance that can be used for fertilizer. It can also be used to make explosives. The government took the ammonium nitrate from a ship in the port of Damascus, the MV Rhosus. The MV Rhosus had been abandoned in the port, after the Lebanese government said it was no longer fit to travel by sea. The ammonium nitrate was then stored in the port, for at least six years. This may have been without the proper precautions. There are various regulations how ammonium nitrate should be stored, and handled. In its pure form, ammonium nitrate does not burn; but it increases fires a great deal. It should therefore not be stored near flammable substances, and it should not be heated in a closed space. It is also very sensitive to temperature.
Before the big explosion, here seems to have been a fire in a part of the warehouse, where fireworks were stored. The ammonium nitrate was stored in the same building.
The explosion has been compared to three thousand tonnes of TNT.[9][10]
Some countries offered medical aid, rescue teams and money to help deal with the aftermath of the disaster.
2020 Beirut Explosion Media
- Beirut Explosion Moment of blast captured in a BBC interview - BBC URDU.webm
The moment of the explosion was captured during an interview with Faissal Al Assil, head of the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy, by Moroccan journalist Maryam Toumi, who sustained minor injuries, from the BBC Arabic office in Beirut, which was damaged.
- دخان انفجار بيروت انتشر في كل سماء لبنان.webm
دخان انفجار بيروت انتشر في سماء لبنان
- 193 2020 970 Fig3 HTML.webp
Collated time of arrival vs distance from analysis of social media video footage, with the best estimate (0.50 kt TNT) and reasonable upper limit (1.12 kt TNT) curves determined from regression analysis.
- Aftermath of the 2020 Beirut explosions august 6 2020 05.jpg
S. Dagher Building, located opposite the port's free zone entrance, suffered extensive damage
- Port of Beirut from the ISS (closeup) (cropped).jpg
The Port of Beirut as seen from the International Space Station a week after the disaster, with inset of an enlarged view of the explosion crater (top left)
United States Air Force, Medical Services supply
- USAR op weg naar Beiroet C-17 01.jpg
Dutch urban search and rescue team heading to Beirut on 5 August
- Tel Aviv City Hall - Lebanon Flag.jpg
Tel Aviv City Hall, in Israel, lit up with the colors of the Lebanese flag on 5 August 2020
Azadi Tower, in Iran, lit up with the colors of the Lebanese flag on 6 August 2020
References
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).[dead link]
- ↑ Hubbard, Ben (4 August 2020). "Explosions Rock East Beirut" (in en-US). The New York Times. . https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/world/middleeast/beirut-explosion-blast.html. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ Chulov, Martin; Safi, Michael (4 August 2020). "Lebanon: at least 78 killed as huge explosion rocks Beirut". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/04/huge-explosion-beirut-lebanon-shatters-windows-rocks-buildings. Retrieved 4 August 2020.
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).
- ↑ Horton, Alex (4 August 2020). Here's what the videos of the Beirut blast tell us about the explosion. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2020/08/04/beirut-explosion-ammonium-nitrate/. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities at line 38: bad argument #1 to 'ipairs' (table expected, got nil).