“Now I am shaking, all the way from the up and down.”-An eyewitness described the violence of the explosion.
Lebanon’s capital Beirut witnessed two consecutive explosions on Tuesday afternoon, as per the local time. It took place in the central port area of the city. The horrible blast was caught on the camera and spread widely across the social media platforms.
The footage showed a bigger cloud of smoke swirling near the port area of the city, blowing the video grapher off his feet.
The cause of this massive explosion has not been clear yet. The initial assessment of the government was the detonation of more than 2,700 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been reserved in a warehouse at the port of the capital city, Beirut which was taken over from a cargo ship six years ago.
Lebanon’s cabinet has announced a two-week state of emergency in the capital and handed control of the security to the military.
Initially, the 100 death was reported but the death toll rises to 135 as about 5000 people are extremely wounded along with immense financial loss.
More than 100 people have been reported missing. The governor of Beirut has estimated the cost of the damage as more than 3 billion and up to 3000 people had suffered destroy to their homes, leaving some uninhabitable. The mega blast devastated grains silos that contained 85% of the country’s grain supply.
Food prices had already raised due to the economic crisis in the pandemic, before the explosion, 49% of Lebanese were estimated to worry about access to the food, as per the World Food Programme.
“We expect that the damage at the port will significantly exacerbate the economic and food security situation in Lebanon.”- United Nations deputy spokesperson.
Lebanon’s healthcare system is struggling to combat with COVID-19 pandemic, is already drained. Surviving with the aftermath of the sudden blast would be a new challenge for the authority.
“Shocked and saddened by the large explosion in Beirut city leading to loss of life and property. Our thoughts and prayers are with bereaved families and the injured.”- the Prime Minister of India.
It is not just the explosions that made the country’s situation vulnerable. In the past few years, Lebanon has been suffering from one after another crisis, political instability, or a weaker economy. The price of food and beverages is increasing day by day.
Last year a protest procession on the street broke out in Beirut against corruption and the government’s inability to provide basic needs of habitants, demanding to Prime minister, Saad Hariri’s resignation.
The authority should look into the disaster carefully and try to fix the economy of the country.
Otherwise, it would not be possible to recover the scarcity. Other countries in the region, as well as international institutions, should lend their hand to help Beirut to tussle with the shock.
The country’s economic system is in danger. All the stakeholders should work together to withstand the moment of catastrophe.
-Saswati Chattopadhyay.