No room for failure

5 August 2020 By Una Galani, Edward Hadas Follow @ugalani

The devastation in Beirut adds to the political, financial and economic troubles that beset the country. Long-standing governance shortcomings make such tragedies more likely and recovery more difficult. Too many countries share Lebanon’s inability to deal with added catastrophe.

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A powerful blast in port warehouses near central Beirut storing highly explosive material killed at least 100 people, injured 4,000 and sent seismic shockwaves that shattered windows, smashed masonry and shook the ground across the Lebanese capital on Aug. 4.

Officials said that they expected the death toll to rise further. It was the most powerful explosion in years in Beirut, which is already reeling from an economic crisis and a surge in coronavirus infections.

President Michel Aoun said that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, used in fertilisers and bombs, had been stored for six years at the port without safety measures.

“What we are witnessing is a huge catastrophe,” the head of Lebanon’s Red Cross George Kettani told broadcaster Mayadeen. “There are victims and casualties everywhere.”

Images showed port buildings reduced to tangled masonry, devastating the main entry point to a country that relies on food imports to feed its population of more than 6 million.

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