Beirut, Lebanon in crisis after the explosion on August 4th

 On the afternoon of 4 August 2020, two explosions 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 tons; 2,710 long tons) of ammonium nitrate – equivalent to around 1.2 kilotons of TNT (5.0 TJ) – which had been confiscated by the Lebanese government from the abandoned ship MV Rhosus and then stored in the port without proper safety measures for six yearsThe explosion was detected by the United States Geological Survey as a seismic event of magnitude 3.3; was felt in Turkey, Syria, Israel, 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 non-nuclear explosions in 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.[6][7][8] On 10 August 2020, Prime Minister Hassan Diab and the Lebanese cabinet resigned due to mounting political pressure that was exacerbated by the event. On 11 August 2020, according to the investigation led by Amnesty International, Lebanese military and security forces attacked unarmed protesters following the Beirut explosion. Beirut security forces shoot-to-harm policy caused serious injuries among demonstrator, one of whom lost an eye 


Date4 August 2020
Time18:08:18 EEST (15:08:18 UTC)
VenuePort of Beirut
LocationBeirut, Lebanon
Coordinates33°54′05″N 35°31′08″E
TypeAmmonium nitrate explosion
CauseFire
Deaths178+
Non-fatal injuries6,000+
Missing30–40
Property damageUS$15+ billion
Displaced~300,000.

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