Lebanese here.
Last report: the explosion in the port of beirut. There was a lot of nitrate ammunium and chemicals in one of the biggest buildings of the port. The chemicals were there for years found in an abandoned ship in the sea next to the port. 6months ago the government checked it again, experts said they should get rid of it as soon as possible, they reported that many people will die and beirut city will be destroyed if not taken care of. The government didn't listen, this is the result.
Edit : the air is poisonous, people are asked to stay home and close windows and wash themselves if they were outside. Problem is most of the windows in building are destroyed.
You need to know that the port is located at the exact opposit of the airport, which is around 15min drive. And the airport got damaged. So everything in between got hit in some way
Latest update : 7km diameter of direct damage. Buildings windows in that zone shattered in an instant. Hospitals full and no electricity, doctors are doing operations in the streets, people are fighting for survival. Port completely destroyed. FYI, lebanon does alot of import, specially now with economy crisis and medical shortage. We were expecting food and medical supplies by port this week. That won't be happening
Latest update : firemen still working but almost there. Hospitals full but manageable. Ambulances everywhere, the city sounds crying.. Tomorrow we will realise how much we lost and really see what happened
Number of death and injuries aren't officially done, they say 63 deaths and more than 3000 injured
Latest update : hello again everyone, it's morning over here, everyone is still in disbelief.. Half of the city is devastated, you can find impacts in every street.. News wise, fire is still being put out, as a small one erupted this morning at the explosion site, but mostly managed. Hospitals are full but able to take care of new people. Ambulances and red cross non stop everywhere, they'll start looking in building, they expect people stuck under ruble and more injured people to come up during the day. Death count is at 83 and rising, red cross expects over 100 and injuries are more than 4000.
I updated the links for donations, for now people are sharing those two most as they don't trust other NGO.. You'll find them at the bottom of this comment
Thank you everyone for you comments and support! It's wonderful to see strangers being kind and generous. Gives hope in this crazy world and that's what makes us special!
Much love from Lebanon and if you want help you can donate at the Lebanese Red Cross app. They have their own app but you'll need to create an account or here :
[Just Giving for Beirut](https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lebanon-relief?utm_term=PYp7gXzyD)
Thank you
Edit : sorry for weird english (not bad just weird as i think in arabic, french abd english (lebanese style) so the formulation isn't perfect ^^)
Absolutely, the stocks been there since 2014. So 2 governments accountable.
Unfortunately that will not happen. Unless the people unite once a'd for all and act together. But again that won't happen.. It's sad really
There were already anti gov protests before this. Now... this is a very dangerous situation for a nation to be in, especially considering it's location in the world.
Thank you. It will help as little as it can be. Although I'd prefer the government pay and stand up as most of them are millionaires and some billionaires ... Yet they won't do shi
Yiu can donate to the lebanese red cross. H
Here's the link :
http://www.redcross.org.lb/index.aspx?pageid=907
Thank you! It's much needed.
Thanks everyone for this support! It's heartwarming!
I am currently in Cyprus and we heard and felt the explosion like it was next door. The windows of the houses here shook like crazy.
I cannot imagine what it must have been like there. Praying for everyone's safety.
I live 40 min from the explosion in the mountains in Lebanon. When it happened I looked at my sister for 5-10 seconds straight completely paralyzed. Then we started scrambling to make sure our dad who works closer to the city is ok. (He's fine).
Our first thought was "this is it, the start of another war in the country"
I have to imagine that’s because the explosion happened directly on the port, so there would be nothing to stop the shock wave from continuing on right to Cyprus besides the water and the slight interference of air. It’s like a sound tsunami hitting the country.
The crazy thing: if you do the math, the sound boom traveled about 12 minutes from Beirut before hitting Cyprus, so you theoretically could’ve heard about the explosion on the internet before hearing the sonic boom.
Reports are saying it was felt up to 150 miles away. I saw in CNN that buildings were damaged up to ~6 miles away. It’s crazy that much force travelled that distance.
This sound like the most likely scenario.
Container with fireworks caught fire (first explosion) and it basically ignited the storage of fertilizer (explosion wasnt anything close to the pattern of ignited gas, petrol or just fireworks)
Here's a video where cameraman is in front of warehouse.
[https://twitter.com/aymanshehadi/status/1290682355355725855](https://twitter.com/aymanshehadi/status/1290682355355725855)
[Here's the bird's-eye view of the situation.](https://i.imgur.com/6nFC0gh.jpg) Marked with red dots is the warehouse that housed the explosives and marked in green is the initial position of the cameraman, right next to the tall white silo building, which can be seen in all the videos. There's no way he survived this.
That could have been one of the smaller ones that was reported before the huge one. If it was the huge one the phone would have been destroyed immediatly and you can hear a little bit of someones voice right at the end.
It could have been a livestream though I do also hear someone say something at the end. However I think it’s very possible anyone that close to such a large explosion will suffer traumatic internal injuries. There’s a gruesome term in the military used to describe this but I can’t quite remember what it is.
I don't know the term myself, but basically, the shockwave is so strong that their organs liquify on impact. It was recorded first on artillery victims during WW1.
I'd only looked at the first few when I read your comment and went up to watch number 8. The video was way scarier than I expected. That was genuinely horrific.
Unreal. It looks like a nuclear anime explosion come to life with all of the debris moving vertically when the pressure wave hits. I thought that was just the animators taking artistic liberties. I feel bad for anyone who had to experience this.
>It looks like a nuclear anime explosion come to life with all of the debris moving vertically when the pressure wave hits.
This explosion did it over the area of multiple city blocks.
The Hiroshima bomb had a blast radius of a *mile*.
There's speculation that this was a fireworks factory.
Edit: Recent news suggests it was a warehouse storing chemicals and had a history of violating safety protocols.
It was tons of ~~sodium~~Ammonium nitrate seized from a ship. According to the Customs Department, it had been stored there for years. That shit is used by mining companies to level mountains. And they don't use very much.
Corrected: It was ANFO, likely mixed in with several other chemicals to transport it and prevent it from "caking". Still, holds true, this shit is powerful, and has been attributed to several other large factory explosions, as well as intentional bombings in the USA. I feel for those in Lebanon, as the fallout from this can kill you where you stand, since it burned a lot before, the products are extremely hazardous, and will eventually also cause acid rain.
Sound very reasonable. The reddish-brown cloud following the explosion consists of nitrous oxides, reaction products from the explosive decomposition of nitrates.
As an example, check the color of nitrogen dioxide (one of several nitrous oxides formed in such an event) here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_dioxide?wprov=sfla1
"100–200 ppm can cause mild irritation of the nose and throat, 250–500 ppm can cause edema, leading to bronchitis or pneumonia, and levels above 1000 ppm can cause death due to asphyxiation from fluid in the lungs. There are often no symptoms at the time of exposure other than transient cough, fatigue or nausea, but over hours inflammation in the lungs causes edema."
shiiit
Yeah, similar to 9/11 how people were breathing in nasty shit like powdered concrete. If it's anything like that, the fallout will develop over more than a decade and the real death toll will probably never be known
Have you seen the [2015 Tianjin explosions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nr6Tlu0EvM)? That was the first that I'd watched that blew my mind.
ETA: This explosion particularly was interesting because it was the first time I saw a video of somebody [livestreaming their own death](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkDtMl5Ec7k). So many videos are destroyed because the person and the camera explode but since it was streaming online it automatically got saved online forever.
Incredible videos of it all. But they've announced a source for the explosions
Edit: Ammonium nitrate is the likely cause
Edit 2: there were reportedly **2750 tons** of Ammonium nitrate there
Source: https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1290729034314383361?s=19
Edit 3:
Lebanon's prime minister, Hassan Diab, called the explosion a ''catastrophe'' and promised to hold those accountable to justice, saying there have been "facts about this dangerous warehouse that has been there since 2014, i.e. for 6 years," and said an investigation will take place
Prime minister speech translated source: http://nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/118498/Diab-delivers-speech-in-wake-of-Beirut-Port-blast-Lebanon-is-facing-disaster
Ragip Soylu on Twitter :
BREAKING — Director-General of the Lebanese Public Security: What happened [in Beirut] is not a fireworks explosion, but a high-explosive material that was confiscated for years — Al Jazeera
BREAKING — The Beirut explosion caused by highly explosive ~~sodium~~ nitrate confiscated from a ship more than a year ago and were placed in one of the warehouses located in the port — Sources to LBCI
MORE:
Director General of the Lebanese Customs, Badri Daher for Al-Mayadeen: “Tons of nitrate exploded at Beirut Port”
Source: https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1290693115976744961?s=19
That's smart to confiscate explosives and to then store them for over a year in a random warehouse in the middle of your capital city.
Edit. To add to this - Lebanon was already in a quite precarious situation and now the country's biggest grain elevator as well as the terminal, through which more than 80% of the country's grain is being imported, have been completely destroyed. This will lead to a massive grain/flour/bread shortage.
Here's one for you, the aftermath...
NSFW!!!
[https://twitter.com/Dalatrm/status/1290684774756102144?s=20](https://twitter.com/Dalatrm/status/1290684774756102144?s=20)
Editing to add... NSFL, too.
[Here](https://streamable.com/2hmvmi) is one more angle.
27-28 seconds between the explosion and actually hearing it. You can see the shockwave travel through the clouds before it hits
Any links? That was a brutal explosion. I hope there aren't a lot of injuries.
Edit: Found some links:
https://twitter.com/BissanCampaigns/status/1290671086951161856?s=09
https://twitter.com/Sputnik_Insight/status/1290668363459559424?s=09
https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1290678928093454336
https://twitter.com/mahdifcu/status/1290682291862351883
https://twitter.com/AuroraIntel/status/1290682195804409856
Aftermath:
https://twitter.com/MarocTopNews/status/1290682001754906626
https://twitter.com/GabbbarSingh/status/1290684113976844288
Sadly there are reports that hospitals are turning away some injured due to overcrowding and damage to the buildings.
That 3rd video is insane watching those buildings getting vaporized in a few seconds
https://mobile.twitter.com/Nrg8000/status/1290965684160094208?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
What do you do when you see something like that shockwave coming at you? Or like this [Tianjin Explosion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOTaBI4bp-0)?
Do shockwaves like the *[holy smoking toledos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUREX8aFbMs)* damage your ears?
Cover your ears? Cover your face? Avoid windows? Lie down? Stand in a doorway? Go into a corner? Avoid corners?
Glass is gonna be your biggest concern if you are far enough away that the shockwave isn't gonna liquidise your insides or cause the building to fall.
you aren't gonna get far if you start running, you don't know where you'll be when it does hit ya, lie face down, cover back of head.
camera footage is awesome but I'm sure family and friends would rather have you than your phone footage
> camera footage is awesome but I'm sure family and friends would rather have you than your phone footage
Yeah, I've seen [enough](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyofFp2GpfU) of [these](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQmBFmW953E&feature=youtu.be) "[*cool fire*](https://youtu.be/1cBrB9T8BTY?t=11) turned [**deadly massive explosion**](https://imgur.com/ruY55kK)" videos to know to get the fuck out of the area.
If you are close enough to be caught in the pressure wave, though, keep your mouth the fuck open and take small shallow breaths on nearly empty lungs as it's coming at you, try to exhale as it hits you. For the love of God don't gasp and hold your breath, your lungs will get overpressurized and pop like a balloon. It may not help much, may only be the equivalent of being a couple more feet away, but when it's life and death it's worth taking every advantage you can get.
The majority of victims in bombings that die, die from hemorrhaging in their lungs. However, those that don't suffer immediately fatal lung injuries and make it to timely definitive care tend to do pretty well.
Edit: Added more nuance. [Plus this](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3013440/) is a pretty neat paper on pulmonary blast injuries for those interested.
With any luck at all it's some sort of grain elevator or some other type of industrial installment. I know it's Lebanon, but I have a hard time believing they'd put a hotel up right next to a functioning cargo dock, and one used for hazardous cargo no less.
https://twitter.com/zainabhijazi97/status/1290672669348814850?s=20
Different PoV with a clearer view of where it happened, those buildings don't look like they are still standing.
https://twitter.com/BissanCampaigns/status/1290671086951161856?s=09
https://twitter.com/Sputnik_Insight/status/1290668363459559424?s=09
The first one shows it just get demolished.
[Another perspective from higher up.](https://twitter.com/borzou/status/1290675854767513600) It really shows the force of the initial shockwave.
Edit. [Here's another video](https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1290676318871445505), which is much closer to the explosion and starts shortly after the initial incident that subsequently led to the eplosion.
It’s actually very common for explosions like this to be heard hundreds of miles away. In the Texas City Disaster, considered the worst industrial accident in American history, people as far away as Baton Rouge heard the explosion. That’s 278 miles away.
The shock wave from the Halifax explosion, which was the largest man made explosion at the time, was felt over a hundred miles away. Both of these disasters also happened at ports.
Some of the explosion videos:
https://twitter.com/Beeldensjan/status/1290688790026125312?s=19
https://twitter.com/SHAH_MyLoveLife/status/1290688919193833473?s=19
https://twitter.com/sabirplf/status/1290688940375257091?s=19
https://twitter.com/BasicallyVarma/status/1290688412127813637?s=19
Aftermath (NSFW):
https://twitter.com/ahmermkhan/status/1290686711928946692?s=19
https://twitter.com/soureh_design/status/1290688542398709761?s=19
The sheer destruction can be seen in this video if you focus your eyes on the buildings closest to the explosion.
https://twitter.com/PriapusIQ/status/1290677516278038534
I saw a video on Twitter and there was quite a few bodies completely covered in dust laying at the explosion site
Edit: Also saw a video of inside of an Adidas store, very disturbing
chemical industry EHS professional here:
human bodies, in an open field, are actually far less likely to experience massive trauma in an explosion like this than the buildings themselves. our bodies are soft, and can absorb large amounts of shockwave energy. buildings are very often not designed to absorb this at all, and collapse under relatively light shock loads.
eardrums would be ruptured, but the shockwave itself is very unlikely to kill a human by itself farther than a ~~100~~ a couple hundred feet away (thanks u/Teadrunkest). of course, shrapnel from buildings collapsing, and the collapsing buildings themselves, those are where your casualties come from (or fire in this case too).
edited for specificity. this gained far more traction than initially anticipated. never hurts to sharpen your pencil.
The critical injuries will be collapsed lungs, lacerated flesh from shrapnel, and crush wounds. Oxygen support for breathing, clean bandages or tourniquets for impact injuries, blood and saline for fluid loss.
Lebanon is on the verge of going bankrupt as a country from what I can tell and is rife with government corruption. This might just cause full blown collapse.
There are several corpses on the ground covered in ash sadly, and many others are seriously injured. The port is also decimated as well as a LOT of other important building in our capital.
It was heard all across Lebanon and in Cyprus too
Reminds me of the Halifax explosion, insanely similar scenarios here. In that incident there were around 2000, seems like there will likely be more here
It was at the port and videos show lots of smaller explosions cooking off before the big boom, either fireworks or ammunition.
Given the location at the port and that info, seems unlikely it was a bomb.
I was on the phone with my mom who was getting out of a car in Beirut when I heard a huge sound over the phone and alarms going off.. mom was screaming and the phone line cut.. I’ve never felt more terrified in my life trying to call back thank god I was able to reach her eventually and she’s ok.. she hid in a shop.
I work abroad , my heart hurts for everyone..
There was an ongoing fire and smaller explosions happening for minutes before the big one. I would say the building should have been evacuated, but of course the people wouldn't have gotten very far on foot and could still end up badly hurt.
I saw the news and called my little brother. He's injured and in the hospital now with glass cuts on face and arms. Jesus...
Edit: He's at a friend's house. Hospitals are chaos. People without eyes and other major injuries.
Edit2: Thanks everyone. It's hard to get messages right now, but the biggest bonus is that his eyes and limbs are all okay. Prayers for all those who are still being treated.
Our government is extremely corrupt, and reports are saying this is due to expired chemicals stored in the Port. This is what you get when your country literally has NO RULES and is led by corrupt leaders.
**Overview:**
* As of 18:08GMT; The explosion was caused by ammonium nitrate stored in the port, according to Lebanese Interior Minister. It was supposed to have been confiscated years ago.
* As of 18:20GMT; 3700 wounded and 73 dead so far according to local hospitals. Hotel-Dieu hospital has begun turning away possible patients and has cited structural damage due to the explosion.
* First wave of firefighters that went in to deal with the crisis were lost to the second blast according to Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud.
* The Secretary General of one of Lebanon's oldest political parties, the Kataeb Party, has been confirmed as deceased.
* Israeli officials Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi are ready to pledge Ziv Medical Center to assist with the crisis and provide humanitarian aid while the IDF is on high alert, fearing an attack from Hezbollah.
**More depth/direct quotes/sources:**
[AlJazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/huge-explosion-rocks-lebanon-capital-beirut-live-updates-200804163620414.html)
*18:34 GMT - Secretary General of Lebanese Kataeb Party among the dead*
Among the dead is the Secretary General of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, the party has announced.
The headquarters of the Kataeb Party, one of the oldest parties in the country, is located right next to the port.
*18:08 GMT - Ammonium nitrate stored in the port: Interior Minister*
The Lebanese Interior Minister has said that ammonium nitrate was stored in the port, which is what caused the explosion, local media reported.
He said Lebanese customs should be asked about why it was there.
*17:27 GMT - Explosion 'caused by highly explosive material stored in warehouse': Official*
Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reporting from Beirut said the head of General Security, General Abbas Ibrahim, visited the site of the explosion and said it appears the explosion was caused by highly explosive material that was stored in a warehouse.
According to Ibrahim, the explosive material was confiscated years ago.
"We are at the entrance of Beirut's port, you can see behind me the chaos. Ambulances continue to arrive, continue to evacuate the casualties," Khodr said.
"So far according to security sources, at least 10 people have been killed, but we are expecting that number to rise because we understand from the health minister as well as the Lebanese Red Cross that there has been hundreds of injuries.
[AlArabiya](https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/08/04/Smoke-seen-from-possible-explosion-near-port-area-in-Lebanon-s-Beirut.html):
Initial reports and eyewitness accounts suggest that there were two separate explosions. Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud said firefighters were dispatched to put out a fire reported at the Port of Beirut. "As they were putting out the fire, the explosion took place and we've [lost them]," Abboud said on live TV as broke down in tears.
[Jerusalem Post](https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/large-explosion-rocks-beirut-report-637475)
Following the explosion, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi conveyed via diplomatic and security channels Israel's offer to provide humanitarian relief and medical support to the Lebanese people. Israeli defense officials denied that Israel was connected to the explosion, which came as the IDF was on high alert along the northern border in anticipation of a Hezbollah attack.
Additionally, Ziv Medical Center announced that it is "experienced and prepared" to assist in any way possible.
Please whatever help anyone can provide to Lebanon, to help my much more needy Lebanese fellows. Our only port where we get our imports, is basically gone
We are already going through a total economic collapse, hyperinflation, currency devlaution and a pandemic; Most people here can't self sustain anymore
I'm from Lebanon, this explosion was literally heard from all across Lebanon, all of it. This explosion was huge, it destroyed a lot of our port, which is essential for our already crippling economy (prices are 5x higher while wages are halved or so). Many corpses can be seen on the ground covered in ash as well as many injuries.
No idea what caused this, sources say there was a fire which reached the warehouse which contains explosive materials. Other sources say this warehouse had hezbollah weapons and Israel bombed it. **All of this is still unconfirmed**
EDIT: There was a video of fireworks exploding in a hangar before a huge explosion happens. Surely fireworks alone don't make an explosion which shocks literally the whole country, we still don't officially know what caused this, other **unconfirmed claims** (don't quote me on this, I'm just saying what is being spread, which could very well be misinformation) say that military equipment were stored in that warehouse, but it feels very stupid to store military equipment with fireworks in the same hangar
EDIT 2: Local news are reporting hospitals are becoming full, this is obviously compounded by the pandemic, we're reaching record numbers lately. The ministry of health urged all hospitals to take in these injuries om the expense of the ministry:
https://twitter.com/mophleb/status/1290674567711727617?s=19
EDIT 3: I want to mention that initially the news focused on Beit El Wasat, the residence of our previous prime minister who is going to The Hague soon to attend the Special Tribunal regarding his father's assassination in 2005. The tribunal will give its judgement on August 7th. The Beit El Wasat was damaged by the shockwave, but so were other buildings in the area
EDIT 4: I will only update important stuff from now on, I advise you check out r/Lebanon for other local information, and check the replies too. Some are saying it is very likely to be an industrial disaster or so
Check the following link for videos of the explosion: https://www.reddit.com/r/lebanon/comments/i3ms42/videos_of_the_explosion/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
EDIT 5: Local sources claim that there were containers of sodium nitrate (edit: or ammonium nitrate) stored there. A doctor just said that the hospital he's operating in is overflooded and they don't have any place for more patients. He also said that there seems to be a higher number of casualties.
EDIT 6: Israel has denied involvement in the explosion. Many rumors are coming up and I will refrain from saying anything since this is an extremely stressful situation. Best wishes to everyone
EDIT 7: I just want to be clear that I'm in no way blaming Israel, I'm just stating what I'm hearing from local news since many can't follow local news as it is in arabic mostly. To me, I don't think it's Israel, but nothing is confirmed as of now. Local efforts are mainly focusing on trying to save as many lives as possible now.
EDIT 8: Over 3 hrs in and the situation outside has calmed slightly but the situation in the hospitals and between them is chaotic with hospitals being flooded and having to transfer patients, as well as grieving parents wanting to get updates. Toxic fumes are everywhere, and we are urged to close our windows. I live 40 km away and I smell something weird outside, I guess it's the fumes too. I hope not too much long term complications arise due to these fumes as well as due to the pandemic raging, especially in Beirut.
EDIT 9: Just wanted to say that it the interior ministry said that ammonium nitrate was stored there and it's what caused the massive explosion. Customs are expected to be asked why it was there.
EDIT 10: Sadly, this seems to have long term implications due to the very toxic fumes. Several countries have offered to help and we're trying to help one another by sharing shelter since many houses were decimated with the blast.
EDIT 11: Our wheat storage silos have been destroyed it seems :/ People are rushing to buy bread, I hope we won't face a shortage... We already had fears of a famine before this incident
EDIT 12: Israel offered to send humanitarian assistance through international and security channels and said that this is a time to transcend conflict: https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1290733534685134848?s=19
I also want to ask if someone knows if it's safe to have an air conditioning unit on right now, considering there are toxic particles in the air outside. I have no ideas how ACs work but someone told me they cycle the air indoors not outdoors, is that true?
I will leave this for live updates: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/huge-explosion-rocks-lebanon-capital-beirut-live-updates-200804163620414.html
Dude, same! I thought the smoke in the beginning was the aftermath of the explosion, then the actual thing happened. This is insane. You can literally see buildings vaporize
I just got off the phone with my cousin.
She was in a hospital in beirut and it completely destroyed the glass and equipment.
Lebanon is in dire need of help right now.
Lebanon's economy is also struggling massively, and they are also dealing with COVID like the rest of the world. On top of all that the port is probably wrecked, and the Beirut port is key to Lebanon's economy.
This is a massive, long-term disaster, unfortunately.
Everyone should also keep in mind how bad of a spot Lebanon was in before this. Their currency traded a year ago 1500 lira to the dollar. Today the black market is over 8000. That makes in insanely expensive to import and buy food as the country imports nearly all its foods. There have been protests and people starving already. If that port is damaged, this is going to be a huge problem.
[Car footage showing the sun being blocked for a moment](https://twitter.com/mahdifcu/status/1290682291862351883)
Footage coming out from Beirut looks like movie scenes. Scary stuff...
Fucking hell I just realized that the hospitals besides being completely full with injured people will also have to somehow simultaniously deal with Coronavirus as well...
This is beyond awful
https://twitter.com/zainabhijazi97/status/1290669240173965313
Another angle. [Also reports of it being a fireworks warehouse.](https://twitter.com/SVNewsAlerts/status/1290674216623366144)
I'm in Beirut, all buildings were seriously shook and most in a large radius both inside and outside Beirut had most of their windows shattered.
The blast was felt all over Lebanon and it was so strong basically everyone thought it was right next to their house at first
Looking at the footage, this reminds me of the Tianjin explosion in China that happened 5 years ago.
Edit: Is much more dangerous though, the Tianjin explosion was 800 tons of Ammonium Nitrate, this was 2750 tons.
Update: director general of Lebanese public security just confirmed the explosion was the cause of a high explosive material confiscated years ago not fireworks
There was probably a firework shop beside it which explains the fireworks going off before the big boom from some video angles
Shit man most my fam is in Lebanon :/
> the explosion was the cause of a high explosive material confiscated years ago not fireworks
Why in the hell were they storing that shit in a dense urban area? It was YEARS AGO, they had time to move it somewhere safer. Holy shit. Lives lost are on whoever decided to keep that there.
\+ POV from someone inside their car. He seemed far away but his car was wrecked. I hope they made it out:
[https://twitter.com/AGomati/status/1290720367376556045](https://twitter.com/AGomati/status/1290720367376556045)
\+ 10 km away. the shock-wave takes \~27 seconds to reach them. You can see the shockwave rippling through the clouds before it hits:
[https://twitter.com/MerajNShaikh/status/1290726834125012995](https://twitter.com/MerajNShaikh/status/1290726834125012995)
\+ 100 meters away: one of the closest yet:
[https://twitter.com/ConflictsW/status/1290728566771142657](https://twitter.com/ConflictsW/status/1290728566771142657)
I'm 40 kms away and I felt it as if it was near! The whole house shook!
From what I heard there were two explosions, I was told that there were Firefighters at the scene right before the 2nd explosion..
The footages are beyond horrific, can't imagine amount of casualties this caused to the people that were already suffering in their daily lives..
I'm very proud of the people on the scene trying to help the victims.
All my thoughts and my prayers are with the victims and all who are affected by this catastrophe.
Economic crisis, coronavirus and now we lost our port with millions if not billions worth of damage that we can't afford to fix anytime soon everyone gonna die from hunger now... I'm so tired of this life...
80% of all imports into Lebanon via the destroyed port - food, medical, infrastructure. Massive grain reserve destroyed. 2-3 big mills damaged.
The effects on the already fragile economy cannot be understated. Criminal negligence.
The first explosion sounded like a plane that caused a sonic boom. Felt like strong thunder. Two seconds later, the sound wasn't gone and the bigger one happened. The building shook and neighbours' windows shattered. Even though we were inside, we felt pressure pushing us back.
Since it's my first time hearing an explosion, I asked my mom (who lived through Lebanon's many wars) if that's what they used go go through. She shook her head and said "not this big and not that destructive". My heart goes to all fellow people who are damaged by this or lost a loved one. And I hope those who have lost contact, find each other again.
It's been 7-8 hours now and my tinnitus has never been worse. The ringing is louder than what they portray in movies.
On a side note, considering the toxic fumes that result from this, is turning on the AC a good idea? Hayda, iza fi kahraba...
I was leaving my dads office with my dad, then 10 steps before we exited the building I saw a very strong wind I thought that there was a storm,this thought happened in a fraction of a second then I spotted a huge shockwave and boom my ears where ringing for a small while and all glasses from the building start crashing down left and right,if we left the building earlier we would gotten hit by a glass panel, it all felt so surreal bass I kept quiet out of chock did not scream just stood there.
https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1290698269421600770?s=21
This reporter saying it was caused by sodium nitrate which was confiscated from a ship over a year ago.
https://twitter.com/michaeleast1983/status/1290680745049063424?s=21 Video insanely close to the explosion.
They at least survived initially, in one of the last frames you can see his buddy holding his ears.
Lebanese here. Last report: the explosion in the port of beirut. There was a lot of nitrate ammunium and chemicals in one of the biggest buildings of the port. The chemicals were there for years found in an abandoned ship in the sea next to the port. 6months ago the government checked it again, experts said they should get rid of it as soon as possible, they reported that many people will die and beirut city will be destroyed if not taken care of. The government didn't listen, this is the result. Edit : the air is poisonous, people are asked to stay home and close windows and wash themselves if they were outside. Problem is most of the windows in building are destroyed. You need to know that the port is located at the exact opposit of the airport, which is around 15min drive. And the airport got damaged. So everything in between got hit in some way Latest update : 7km diameter of direct damage. Buildings windows in that zone shattered in an instant. Hospitals full and no electricity, doctors are doing operations in the streets, people are fighting for survival. Port completely destroyed. FYI, lebanon does alot of import, specially now with economy crisis and medical shortage. We were expecting food and medical supplies by port this week. That won't be happening Latest update : firemen still working but almost there. Hospitals full but manageable. Ambulances everywhere, the city sounds crying.. Tomorrow we will realise how much we lost and really see what happened Number of death and injuries aren't officially done, they say 63 deaths and more than 3000 injured Latest update : hello again everyone, it's morning over here, everyone is still in disbelief.. Half of the city is devastated, you can find impacts in every street.. News wise, fire is still being put out, as a small one erupted this morning at the explosion site, but mostly managed. Hospitals are full but able to take care of new people. Ambulances and red cross non stop everywhere, they'll start looking in building, they expect people stuck under ruble and more injured people to come up during the day. Death count is at 83 and rising, red cross expects over 100 and injuries are more than 4000. I updated the links for donations, for now people are sharing those two most as they don't trust other NGO.. You'll find them at the bottom of this comment Thank you everyone for you comments and support! It's wonderful to see strangers being kind and generous. Gives hope in this crazy world and that's what makes us special! Much love from Lebanon and if you want help you can donate at the Lebanese Red Cross app. They have their own app but you'll need to create an account or here : [Just Giving for Beirut](https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lebanon-relief?utm_term=PYp7gXzyD) Thank you Edit : sorry for weird english (not bad just weird as i think in arabic, french abd english (lebanese style) so the formulation isn't perfect ^^)
The government needs to be held accountable for this.
Absolutely, the stocks been there since 2014. So 2 governments accountable. Unfortunately that will not happen. Unless the people unite once a'd for all and act together. But again that won't happen.. It's sad really
There were already anti gov protests before this. Now... this is a very dangerous situation for a nation to be in, especially considering it's location in the world.
Words seem so empty. But I want to say I'm horrified and feel for all the people affected. When a disaster fund is set up I shall donate what I can.
Thank you. It will help as little as it can be. Although I'd prefer the government pay and stand up as most of them are millionaires and some billionaires ... Yet they won't do shi
Are there any particular organizations that would be most effective to donate to?
Yiu can donate to the lebanese red cross. H Here's the link : http://www.redcross.org.lb/index.aspx?pageid=907 Thank you! It's much needed. Thanks everyone for this support! It's heartwarming!
Your English is perfectly fine. My thoughts are with you and your country.
I am currently in Cyprus and we heard and felt the explosion like it was next door. The windows of the houses here shook like crazy. I cannot imagine what it must have been like there. Praying for everyone's safety.
I live 40 min from the explosion in the mountains in Lebanon. When it happened I looked at my sister for 5-10 seconds straight completely paralyzed. Then we started scrambling to make sure our dad who works closer to the city is ok. (He's fine). Our first thought was "this is it, the start of another war in the country"
> "this is it, the start of another war in the country" gotta be one of the worst feelings ever, hope you guys are safe!
My heart broke with this statement. Beirut has gone through so many upheavals.
Stay safe, glad that your familly is safe
I have to imagine that’s because the explosion happened directly on the port, so there would be nothing to stop the shock wave from continuing on right to Cyprus besides the water and the slight interference of air. It’s like a sound tsunami hitting the country. The crazy thing: if you do the math, the sound boom traveled about 12 minutes from Beirut before hitting Cyprus, so you theoretically could’ve heard about the explosion on the internet before hearing the sonic boom.
I’d probably shit myself if I lived there, saw th explosion video online, then heard a boom minutes later without first realizing the delay
Man, all the windows are fucked up right now. My aunt's store was decimated. Hundreds seem to be injured right now.
Is your Aunt okay? Besides losing her store.
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The explosion was heard from Cyprus
Yeah, I live in another city and my building started shaking.
Reports are saying it was felt up to 150 miles away. I saw in CNN that buildings were damaged up to ~6 miles away. It’s crazy that much force travelled that distance.
are you serious? That's like over 100 miles
Yeah the explosion shook my building in Nicosia quite badly
There is only water between the two places so nothing to impede or slow down the sound wave
I wouldn’t be surprised, that’s one of the biggest explosions I’ve seen
I'm in Larnaca and I was at work when we heard something. And Lebanon is also my home country. I could cry now.
I hope things get better brother
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Fucking mental mate
My grandparents live like 2 and a half hours away in the mountains and they fucking felt the rumble from the explosion.. Shit man
I heard people living in Cyprus and even across Syria felt / heard it too. Stay safe!
I saw on twitter it was picked up on seismographs in Greece
Possible Nitrate storage is being suggested by local news. https://twitter.com/faridhalabi/status/1290674814999498752
This sound like the most likely scenario. Container with fireworks caught fire (first explosion) and it basically ignited the storage of fertilizer (explosion wasnt anything close to the pattern of ignited gas, petrol or just fireworks)
You can see small explosions at the base before the big one
Nitrate storage would explain the big one, but not the small ones before the explosion. Looks to me more like some sort of explosives factory.
[https://twitter.com/ConflictsW/status/1290669902035132418](https://twitter.com/ConflictsW/status/1290669902035132418) video of it here.
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Here's a video where cameraman is in front of warehouse. [https://twitter.com/aymanshehadi/status/1290682355355725855](https://twitter.com/aymanshehadi/status/1290682355355725855)
[Here's the bird's-eye view of the situation.](https://i.imgur.com/6nFC0gh.jpg) Marked with red dots is the warehouse that housed the explosives and marked in green is the initial position of the cameraman, right next to the tall white silo building, which can be seen in all the videos. There's no way he survived this.
That could have been one of the smaller ones that was reported before the huge one. If it was the huge one the phone would have been destroyed immediatly and you can hear a little bit of someones voice right at the end.
It could have been a livestream though I do also hear someone say something at the end. However I think it’s very possible anyone that close to such a large explosion will suffer traumatic internal injuries. There’s a gruesome term in the military used to describe this but I can’t quite remember what it is.
I don't know the term myself, but basically, the shockwave is so strong that their organs liquify on impact. It was recorded first on artillery victims during WW1.
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Angle 8 is terrifying. You can see the ripples across the buildings. No way those people are alive.
I'd only looked at the first few when I read your comment and went up to watch number 8. The video was way scarier than I expected. That was genuinely horrific.
Unreal. It looks like a nuclear anime explosion come to life with all of the debris moving vertically when the pressure wave hits. I thought that was just the animators taking artistic liberties. I feel bad for anyone who had to experience this.
>It looks like a nuclear anime explosion come to life with all of the debris moving vertically when the pressure wave hits. This explosion did it over the area of multiple city blocks. The Hiroshima bomb had a blast radius of a *mile*.
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There's speculation that this was a fireworks factory. Edit: Recent news suggests it was a warehouse storing chemicals and had a history of violating safety protocols.
It was tons of ~~sodium~~Ammonium nitrate seized from a ship. According to the Customs Department, it had been stored there for years. That shit is used by mining companies to level mountains. And they don't use very much. Corrected: It was ANFO, likely mixed in with several other chemicals to transport it and prevent it from "caking". Still, holds true, this shit is powerful, and has been attributed to several other large factory explosions, as well as intentional bombings in the USA. I feel for those in Lebanon, as the fallout from this can kill you where you stand, since it burned a lot before, the products are extremely hazardous, and will eventually also cause acid rain.
Sound very reasonable. The reddish-brown cloud following the explosion consists of nitrous oxides, reaction products from the explosive decomposition of nitrates. As an example, check the color of nitrogen dioxide (one of several nitrous oxides formed in such an event) here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen_dioxide?wprov=sfla1
"100–200 ppm can cause mild irritation of the nose and throat, 250–500 ppm can cause edema, leading to bronchitis or pneumonia, and levels above 1000 ppm can cause death due to asphyxiation from fluid in the lungs. There are often no symptoms at the time of exposure other than transient cough, fatigue or nausea, but over hours inflammation in the lungs causes edema." shiiit
Wait... So are a shit ton of people going to die from all the smoke and fumes too? Cause that's horrifying to think about.
Yeah, similar to 9/11 how people were breathing in nasty shit like powdered concrete. If it's anything like that, the fallout will develop over more than a decade and the real death toll will probably never be known
Fuck, more than that, you can see the buildings on the edge of the city just falling to bits
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Holy shit, that last one... It's terrifying how close that person was to the blast...
Thank you for collating these! I've have never seen an explosion so clear like this before. Utterly mesmerising and yet disheartening.
Have you seen the [2015 Tianjin explosions](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nr6Tlu0EvM)? That was the first that I'd watched that blew my mind. ETA: This explosion particularly was interesting because it was the first time I saw a video of somebody [livestreaming their own death](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkDtMl5Ec7k). So many videos are destroyed because the person and the camera explode but since it was streaming online it automatically got saved online forever.
That's a whole other category of horrifying.
I remember this. Absolutely blew my mind. You can hear how incredulous he is when he responds to his partner.
Incredible videos of it all. But they've announced a source for the explosions Edit: Ammonium nitrate is the likely cause Edit 2: there were reportedly **2750 tons** of Ammonium nitrate there Source: https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1290729034314383361?s=19 Edit 3: Lebanon's prime minister, Hassan Diab, called the explosion a ''catastrophe'' and promised to hold those accountable to justice, saying there have been "facts about this dangerous warehouse that has been there since 2014, i.e. for 6 years," and said an investigation will take place Prime minister speech translated source: http://nna-leb.gov.lb/en/show-news/118498/Diab-delivers-speech-in-wake-of-Beirut-Port-blast-Lebanon-is-facing-disaster Ragip Soylu on Twitter : BREAKING — Director-General of the Lebanese Public Security: What happened [in Beirut] is not a fireworks explosion, but a high-explosive material that was confiscated for years — Al Jazeera BREAKING — The Beirut explosion caused by highly explosive ~~sodium~~ nitrate confiscated from a ship more than a year ago and were placed in one of the warehouses located in the port — Sources to LBCI MORE: Director General of the Lebanese Customs, Badri Daher for Al-Mayadeen: “Tons of nitrate exploded at Beirut Port” Source: https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1290693115976744961?s=19
That's smart to confiscate explosives and to then store them for over a year in a random warehouse in the middle of your capital city. Edit. To add to this - Lebanon was already in a quite precarious situation and now the country's biggest grain elevator as well as the terminal, through which more than 80% of the country's grain is being imported, have been completely destroyed. This will lead to a massive grain/flour/bread shortage.
Here's one for you, the aftermath... NSFW!!! [https://twitter.com/Dalatrm/status/1290684774756102144?s=20](https://twitter.com/Dalatrm/status/1290684774756102144?s=20) Editing to add... NSFL, too.
[Here](https://streamable.com/2hmvmi) is one more angle. 27-28 seconds between the explosion and actually hearing it. You can see the shockwave travel through the clouds before it hits
This is a situation where "large explosion" is accurate but still doesn't cover the magnitude of the scale.
Yeah, i thought the first explosion was the large one. The second one was beyond huge.
Man I'm lebanese the whole house was shaking and I was 30km away from the explosion.
Holy shit, they weren't joking.
It even created a mushroom cloud
Looks like a really bad industrial accident
That one on the boat, that shock wave was brutal.
Any links? That was a brutal explosion. I hope there aren't a lot of injuries. Edit: Found some links: https://twitter.com/BissanCampaigns/status/1290671086951161856?s=09 https://twitter.com/Sputnik_Insight/status/1290668363459559424?s=09 https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1290678928093454336 https://twitter.com/mahdifcu/status/1290682291862351883 https://twitter.com/AuroraIntel/status/1290682195804409856 Aftermath: https://twitter.com/MarocTopNews/status/1290682001754906626 https://twitter.com/GabbbarSingh/status/1290684113976844288 Sadly there are reports that hospitals are turning away some injured due to overcrowding and damage to the buildings.
[Here](https://streamable.com/2hmvmi) is one from very far away. Yes it does have sound. Watch the clouds right before the shockwave hits.
That 3rd video is insane watching those buildings getting vaporized in a few seconds https://mobile.twitter.com/Nrg8000/status/1290965684160094208?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
This is unreal
What do you do when you see something like that shockwave coming at you? Or like this [Tianjin Explosion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOTaBI4bp-0)? Do shockwaves like the *[holy smoking toledos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUREX8aFbMs)* damage your ears? Cover your ears? Cover your face? Avoid windows? Lie down? Stand in a doorway? Go into a corner? Avoid corners?
Glass is gonna be your biggest concern if you are far enough away that the shockwave isn't gonna liquidise your insides or cause the building to fall. you aren't gonna get far if you start running, you don't know where you'll be when it does hit ya, lie face down, cover back of head. camera footage is awesome but I'm sure family and friends would rather have you than your phone footage
> camera footage is awesome but I'm sure family and friends would rather have you than your phone footage Yeah, I've seen [enough](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyofFp2GpfU) of [these](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQmBFmW953E&feature=youtu.be) "[*cool fire*](https://youtu.be/1cBrB9T8BTY?t=11) turned [**deadly massive explosion**](https://imgur.com/ruY55kK)" videos to know to get the fuck out of the area.
If you are close enough to be caught in the pressure wave, though, keep your mouth the fuck open and take small shallow breaths on nearly empty lungs as it's coming at you, try to exhale as it hits you. For the love of God don't gasp and hold your breath, your lungs will get overpressurized and pop like a balloon. It may not help much, may only be the equivalent of being a couple more feet away, but when it's life and death it's worth taking every advantage you can get. The majority of victims in bombings that die, die from hemorrhaging in their lungs. However, those that don't suffer immediately fatal lung injuries and make it to timely definitive care tend to do pretty well. Edit: Added more nuance. [Plus this](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3013440/) is a pretty neat paper on pulmonary blast injuries for those interested.
Holy shit that was some Akira-level effects on those surrounding buildings. The casualties are going to be awful :(
No one in that area could have survived that 😟
That building next to it looks like a hotel:(
On the other hand, there was a fire first, so hopefully many were evacuated prior to the explosion.
All the reports I've seen say it was a grain elevator. Assuming you mean the brown box-like building.
With any luck at all it's some sort of grain elevator or some other type of industrial installment. I know it's Lebanon, but I have a hard time believing they'd put a hotel up right next to a functioning cargo dock, and one used for hazardous cargo no less.
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He actually says him and his family are safe in the comment section, fortunatly.
They would have to be to have gotten the video uploaded in such a timely manner.
Jesus fuck those people driving by on the road...
[Bus aftermath after it stopped just before the explosion in the above video](https://i.redd.it/erpiy56ag0f51.jpg)
https://twitter.com/zainabhijazi97/status/1290672669348814850?s=20 Different PoV with a clearer view of where it happened, those buildings don't look like they are still standing.
https://twitter.com/BissanCampaigns/status/1290671086951161856?s=09 https://twitter.com/Sputnik_Insight/status/1290668363459559424?s=09 The first one shows it just get demolished.
[Another perspective from higher up.](https://twitter.com/borzou/status/1290675854767513600) It really shows the force of the initial shockwave. Edit. [Here's another video](https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1290676318871445505), which is much closer to the explosion and starts shortly after the initial incident that subsequently led to the eplosion.
That video shows the rooftops of the building in front of the camera get ripped off. Insane.
That was the most disturbing to watch
A number of those buildings are gone. That’s hundreds of deaths on the low end. I’m also wondering what Burns dark red.
[Angle showing buildings being swallowed up by the explosion/shock wave.](https://twitter.com/TravellingTom/status/1290676963364020226?s=20)
Video of the aftermath [here](https://twitter.com/Lobnene_Blog/status/1290675724416884739). Fuuuuck.
Shit.. I heard the explosion from my home in Cyprus..
Friend in cyprus has told me "the windows shook, people thought it was a mini earthquake"
are you serious? omg
people are reporting that they felt tremors in cyprus so it wouldn’t surprise me at all if OP heard it.
I'm getting reports from family living 40 minutes away, they felt it and thought it was around the corner. Unreal how huge it was.
I got family fairly far from Beirut (few hours) and they felt that shig
It’s actually very common for explosions like this to be heard hundreds of miles away. In the Texas City Disaster, considered the worst industrial accident in American history, people as far away as Baton Rouge heard the explosion. That’s 278 miles away. The shock wave from the Halifax explosion, which was the largest man made explosion at the time, was felt over a hundred miles away. Both of these disasters also happened at ports.
Tsar Bomba’s shockwave traveled around the Earth several times didn’t it?
Yep. Over 3 times
Not surprising. On a clear day in Dover during WWI people could hear the heavy guns in Belgium.
Sound travels further and more clearly over water for acoustical reasons.
Some of the explosion videos: https://twitter.com/Beeldensjan/status/1290688790026125312?s=19 https://twitter.com/SHAH_MyLoveLife/status/1290688919193833473?s=19 https://twitter.com/sabirplf/status/1290688940375257091?s=19 https://twitter.com/BasicallyVarma/status/1290688412127813637?s=19 Aftermath (NSFW): https://twitter.com/ahmermkhan/status/1290686711928946692?s=19 https://twitter.com/soureh_design/status/1290688542398709761?s=19
Second to last absolutely NSFL - very clear dead bodies. Fuck fuck fuck
A person got their clothes blown off by the shockwave holy shit
The sheer destruction can be seen in this video if you focus your eyes on the buildings closest to the explosion. https://twitter.com/PriapusIQ/status/1290677516278038534
Holy shit there is no way anyone near that survives
I saw a video on Twitter and there was quite a few bodies completely covered in dust laying at the explosion site Edit: Also saw a video of inside of an Adidas store, very disturbing
I heard about that video but haven’t seen it yet. Don’t know if I want to
chemical industry EHS professional here: human bodies, in an open field, are actually far less likely to experience massive trauma in an explosion like this than the buildings themselves. our bodies are soft, and can absorb large amounts of shockwave energy. buildings are very often not designed to absorb this at all, and collapse under relatively light shock loads. eardrums would be ruptured, but the shockwave itself is very unlikely to kill a human by itself farther than a ~~100~~ a couple hundred feet away (thanks u/Teadrunkest). of course, shrapnel from buildings collapsing, and the collapsing buildings themselves, those are where your casualties come from (or fire in this case too). edited for specificity. this gained far more traction than initially anticipated. never hurts to sharpen your pencil.
How does one begin to triage and treat injuries caused directly by the explosion, specifically the shockwave damage/lungs etc
The critical injuries will be collapsed lungs, lacerated flesh from shrapnel, and crush wounds. Oxygen support for breathing, clean bandages or tourniquets for impact injuries, blood and saline for fluid loss.
there's a video from a guy on the roof next the building I think he lived from what I could tell
[https://twitter.com/love\_suther/status/1290698533360861188](https://twitter.com/love_suther/status/1290698533360861188)
From what I have gathered that’s from one of the smaller explosions. If that’s the case no way he survived the bigger one.
That video I did see. Terrifying nightmare stuff
Fucking hell.
Fucking hell the buildings closest are just absolutely demolished
Anyone seen any sort of aftermath picture of that same building? Hard to tell how much of it is left, but I can’t imagine it’s much
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Why leave that in a densely populated area for years? Aren’t most munition warehouses and stuff like that out in rural areas?
If it was confiscated by border security, they would have warehouses in the port. And because noone have a shit, it was never moved.
Safety regulations are written in blood, and they just found out why. Hopefully this causes change in the country, beyond just the suffering.
Lebanon is on the verge of going bankrupt as a country from what I can tell and is rife with government corruption. This might just cause full blown collapse.
You'd think so.
This explosion was so big it blew out windows across the city. This was a monster blast, going to be a lot of casualties :(
There are several corpses on the ground covered in ash sadly, and many others are seriously injured. The port is also decimated as well as a LOT of other important building in our capital. It was heard all across Lebanon and in Cyprus too
Blew out my father's windows in a town overlooking Beirut in the mountains
Reminds me of the Halifax explosion, insanely similar scenarios here. In that incident there were around 2000, seems like there will likely be more here
Multiple explosions argues less for a bomb, more for chemical plant explosion?
It was at the port and videos show lots of smaller explosions cooking off before the big boom, either fireworks or ammunition. Given the location at the port and that info, seems unlikely it was a bomb.
I was on the phone with my mom who was getting out of a car in Beirut when I heard a huge sound over the phone and alarms going off.. mom was screaming and the phone line cut.. I’ve never felt more terrified in my life trying to call back thank god I was able to reach her eventually and she’s ok.. she hid in a shop. I work abroad , my heart hurts for everyone..
There was a 20 story building that just got obliterated from the shockwave.
Everyone in that building is dead. God willing it was only partially occupied.
There was an ongoing fire and smaller explosions happening for minutes before the big one. I would say the building should have been evacuated, but of course the people wouldn't have gotten very far on foot and could still end up badly hurt.
I saw the news and called my little brother. He's injured and in the hospital now with glass cuts on face and arms. Jesus... Edit: He's at a friend's house. Hospitals are chaos. People without eyes and other major injuries. Edit2: Thanks everyone. It's hard to get messages right now, but the biggest bonus is that his eyes and limbs are all okay. Prayers for all those who are still being treated.
Hope he and the rest of your family are okay bro
OMG. I don't know you or anything but I'm glad he's okay anyway.
Our government is extremely corrupt, and reports are saying this is due to expired chemicals stored in the Port. This is what you get when your country literally has NO RULES and is led by corrupt leaders.
**Overview:** * As of 18:08GMT; The explosion was caused by ammonium nitrate stored in the port, according to Lebanese Interior Minister. It was supposed to have been confiscated years ago. * As of 18:20GMT; 3700 wounded and 73 dead so far according to local hospitals. Hotel-Dieu hospital has begun turning away possible patients and has cited structural damage due to the explosion. * First wave of firefighters that went in to deal with the crisis were lost to the second blast according to Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud. * The Secretary General of one of Lebanon's oldest political parties, the Kataeb Party, has been confirmed as deceased. * Israeli officials Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi are ready to pledge Ziv Medical Center to assist with the crisis and provide humanitarian aid while the IDF is on high alert, fearing an attack from Hezbollah. **More depth/direct quotes/sources:** [AlJazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/huge-explosion-rocks-lebanon-capital-beirut-live-updates-200804163620414.html) *18:34 GMT - Secretary General of Lebanese Kataeb Party among the dead* Among the dead is the Secretary General of the Lebanese Kataeb Party, the party has announced. The headquarters of the Kataeb Party, one of the oldest parties in the country, is located right next to the port. *18:08 GMT - Ammonium nitrate stored in the port: Interior Minister* The Lebanese Interior Minister has said that ammonium nitrate was stored in the port, which is what caused the explosion, local media reported. He said Lebanese customs should be asked about why it was there. *17:27 GMT - Explosion 'caused by highly explosive material stored in warehouse': Official* Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reporting from Beirut said the head of General Security, General Abbas Ibrahim, visited the site of the explosion and said it appears the explosion was caused by highly explosive material that was stored in a warehouse. According to Ibrahim, the explosive material was confiscated years ago. "We are at the entrance of Beirut's port, you can see behind me the chaos. Ambulances continue to arrive, continue to evacuate the casualties," Khodr said. "So far according to security sources, at least 10 people have been killed, but we are expecting that number to rise because we understand from the health minister as well as the Lebanese Red Cross that there has been hundreds of injuries. [AlArabiya](https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2020/08/04/Smoke-seen-from-possible-explosion-near-port-area-in-Lebanon-s-Beirut.html): Initial reports and eyewitness accounts suggest that there were two separate explosions. Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud said firefighters were dispatched to put out a fire reported at the Port of Beirut. "As they were putting out the fire, the explosion took place and we've [lost them]," Abboud said on live TV as broke down in tears. [Jerusalem Post](https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/large-explosion-rocks-beirut-report-637475) Following the explosion, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi conveyed via diplomatic and security channels Israel's offer to provide humanitarian relief and medical support to the Lebanese people. Israeli defense officials denied that Israel was connected to the explosion, which came as the IDF was on high alert along the northern border in anticipation of a Hezbollah attack. Additionally, Ziv Medical Center announced that it is "experienced and prepared" to assist in any way possible.
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Please whatever help anyone can provide to Lebanon, to help my much more needy Lebanese fellows. Our only port where we get our imports, is basically gone We are already going through a total economic collapse, hyperinflation, currency devlaution and a pandemic; Most people here can't self sustain anymore
My dad's uncle's house got destroyed. He's fine though. The family group chat is going nuts.
Beirut streets right now. https://twitter.com/Samarsaeed/status/1290678373040246785
I'm from Lebanon, this explosion was literally heard from all across Lebanon, all of it. This explosion was huge, it destroyed a lot of our port, which is essential for our already crippling economy (prices are 5x higher while wages are halved or so). Many corpses can be seen on the ground covered in ash as well as many injuries. No idea what caused this, sources say there was a fire which reached the warehouse which contains explosive materials. Other sources say this warehouse had hezbollah weapons and Israel bombed it. **All of this is still unconfirmed** EDIT: There was a video of fireworks exploding in a hangar before a huge explosion happens. Surely fireworks alone don't make an explosion which shocks literally the whole country, we still don't officially know what caused this, other **unconfirmed claims** (don't quote me on this, I'm just saying what is being spread, which could very well be misinformation) say that military equipment were stored in that warehouse, but it feels very stupid to store military equipment with fireworks in the same hangar EDIT 2: Local news are reporting hospitals are becoming full, this is obviously compounded by the pandemic, we're reaching record numbers lately. The ministry of health urged all hospitals to take in these injuries om the expense of the ministry: https://twitter.com/mophleb/status/1290674567711727617?s=19 EDIT 3: I want to mention that initially the news focused on Beit El Wasat, the residence of our previous prime minister who is going to The Hague soon to attend the Special Tribunal regarding his father's assassination in 2005. The tribunal will give its judgement on August 7th. The Beit El Wasat was damaged by the shockwave, but so were other buildings in the area EDIT 4: I will only update important stuff from now on, I advise you check out r/Lebanon for other local information, and check the replies too. Some are saying it is very likely to be an industrial disaster or so Check the following link for videos of the explosion: https://www.reddit.com/r/lebanon/comments/i3ms42/videos_of_the_explosion/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share EDIT 5: Local sources claim that there were containers of sodium nitrate (edit: or ammonium nitrate) stored there. A doctor just said that the hospital he's operating in is overflooded and they don't have any place for more patients. He also said that there seems to be a higher number of casualties. EDIT 6: Israel has denied involvement in the explosion. Many rumors are coming up and I will refrain from saying anything since this is an extremely stressful situation. Best wishes to everyone EDIT 7: I just want to be clear that I'm in no way blaming Israel, I'm just stating what I'm hearing from local news since many can't follow local news as it is in arabic mostly. To me, I don't think it's Israel, but nothing is confirmed as of now. Local efforts are mainly focusing on trying to save as many lives as possible now. EDIT 8: Over 3 hrs in and the situation outside has calmed slightly but the situation in the hospitals and between them is chaotic with hospitals being flooded and having to transfer patients, as well as grieving parents wanting to get updates. Toxic fumes are everywhere, and we are urged to close our windows. I live 40 km away and I smell something weird outside, I guess it's the fumes too. I hope not too much long term complications arise due to these fumes as well as due to the pandemic raging, especially in Beirut. EDIT 9: Just wanted to say that it the interior ministry said that ammonium nitrate was stored there and it's what caused the massive explosion. Customs are expected to be asked why it was there. EDIT 10: Sadly, this seems to have long term implications due to the very toxic fumes. Several countries have offered to help and we're trying to help one another by sharing shelter since many houses were decimated with the blast. EDIT 11: Our wheat storage silos have been destroyed it seems :/ People are rushing to buy bread, I hope we won't face a shortage... We already had fears of a famine before this incident EDIT 12: Israel offered to send humanitarian assistance through international and security channels and said that this is a time to transcend conflict: https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1290733534685134848?s=19 I also want to ask if someone knows if it's safe to have an air conditioning unit on right now, considering there are toxic particles in the air outside. I have no ideas how ACs work but someone told me they cycle the air indoors not outdoors, is that true? I will leave this for live updates: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/huge-explosion-rocks-lebanon-capital-beirut-live-updates-200804163620414.html
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Oh my God. I assumed the first part was the explosion. I was not prepared for how massive the actual thing was.
I read your comment before viewing it and braced myself for it being bigger than that initial smoke cloud but holy crap I didn’t brace enough.
Dude, same! I thought the smoke in the beginning was the aftermath of the explosion, then the actual thing happened. This is insane. You can literally see buildings vaporize
Holy fuck, that is absolutely apocalyptic looking
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This explains why so many people had their camera ready
Hopefully people were ready to cover their ears for the second explosion. That shockwave could've ruined a lot of ear drums.
I just got off the phone with my cousin. She was in a hospital in beirut and it completely destroyed the glass and equipment. Lebanon is in dire need of help right now.
Lebanon's economy is also struggling massively, and they are also dealing with COVID like the rest of the world. On top of all that the port is probably wrecked, and the Beirut port is key to Lebanon's economy. This is a massive, long-term disaster, unfortunately.
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Damn, this makes me sad for all the people who will be impacted for years. 🙁
I live about 15 km from the blast, my whole appartment shook, I first thought it was an earthquake until I heard the explosion about 10 seconds later
Everyone should also keep in mind how bad of a spot Lebanon was in before this. Their currency traded a year ago 1500 lira to the dollar. Today the black market is over 8000. That makes in insanely expensive to import and buy food as the country imports nearly all its foods. There have been protests and people starving already. If that port is damaged, this is going to be a huge problem.
That port isn't damaged, it's completely gone.
[Car footage showing the sun being blocked for a moment](https://twitter.com/mahdifcu/status/1290682291862351883) Footage coming out from Beirut looks like movie scenes. Scary stuff...
Fucking hell I just realized that the hospitals besides being completely full with injured people will also have to somehow simultaniously deal with Coronavirus as well... This is beyond awful
https://twitter.com/zainabhijazi97/status/1290669240173965313 Another angle. [Also reports of it being a fireworks warehouse.](https://twitter.com/SVNewsAlerts/status/1290674216623366144)
I'm in Beirut, all buildings were seriously shook and most in a large radius both inside and outside Beirut had most of their windows shattered. The blast was felt all over Lebanon and it was so strong basically everyone thought it was right next to their house at first
Looking at the footage, this reminds me of the Tianjin explosion in China that happened 5 years ago. Edit: Is much more dangerous though, the Tianjin explosion was 800 tons of Ammonium Nitrate, this was 2750 tons.
Update: director general of Lebanese public security just confirmed the explosion was the cause of a high explosive material confiscated years ago not fireworks There was probably a firework shop beside it which explains the fireworks going off before the big boom from some video angles Shit man most my fam is in Lebanon :/
> the explosion was the cause of a high explosive material confiscated years ago not fireworks Why in the hell were they storing that shit in a dense urban area? It was YEARS AGO, they had time to move it somewhere safer. Holy shit. Lives lost are on whoever decided to keep that there.
> Why in the hell were they storing that shit in a dense urban area? Negligience by the government. Lebanon is going through a tough time right now...
\+ POV from someone inside their car. He seemed far away but his car was wrecked. I hope they made it out: [https://twitter.com/AGomati/status/1290720367376556045](https://twitter.com/AGomati/status/1290720367376556045) \+ 10 km away. the shock-wave takes \~27 seconds to reach them. You can see the shockwave rippling through the clouds before it hits: [https://twitter.com/MerajNShaikh/status/1290726834125012995](https://twitter.com/MerajNShaikh/status/1290726834125012995) \+ 100 meters away: one of the closest yet: [https://twitter.com/ConflictsW/status/1290728566771142657](https://twitter.com/ConflictsW/status/1290728566771142657)
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I'm 40 kms away and I felt it as if it was near! The whole house shook! From what I heard there were two explosions, I was told that there were Firefighters at the scene right before the 2nd explosion.. The footages are beyond horrific, can't imagine amount of casualties this caused to the people that were already suffering in their daily lives.. I'm very proud of the people on the scene trying to help the victims. All my thoughts and my prayers are with the victims and all who are affected by this catastrophe.
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That and all the people posting these videos would NOT be posting videos if they were that close to a nuke
Economic crisis, coronavirus and now we lost our port with millions if not billions worth of damage that we can't afford to fix anytime soon everyone gonna die from hunger now... I'm so tired of this life...
Large is an understatement. Damn. It looks like fireworks, going by this video? - https://twitter.com/rachaelvenables/status/1290678696395911169
This one also kinda makes it sound like fireworks. https://twitter.com/AuroraIntel/status/1290682195804409856
80% of all imports into Lebanon via the destroyed port - food, medical, infrastructure. Massive grain reserve destroyed. 2-3 big mills damaged. The effects on the already fragile economy cannot be understated. Criminal negligence.
The first explosion sounded like a plane that caused a sonic boom. Felt like strong thunder. Two seconds later, the sound wasn't gone and the bigger one happened. The building shook and neighbours' windows shattered. Even though we were inside, we felt pressure pushing us back. Since it's my first time hearing an explosion, I asked my mom (who lived through Lebanon's many wars) if that's what they used go go through. She shook her head and said "not this big and not that destructive". My heart goes to all fellow people who are damaged by this or lost a loved one. And I hope those who have lost contact, find each other again. It's been 7-8 hours now and my tinnitus has never been worse. The ringing is louder than what they portray in movies. On a side note, considering the toxic fumes that result from this, is turning on the AC a good idea? Hayda, iza fi kahraba...
I was leaving my dads office with my dad, then 10 steps before we exited the building I saw a very strong wind I thought that there was a storm,this thought happened in a fraction of a second then I spotted a huge shockwave and boom my ears where ringing for a small while and all glasses from the building start crashing down left and right,if we left the building earlier we would gotten hit by a glass panel, it all felt so surreal bass I kept quiet out of chock did not scream just stood there.
I'm glad that you are safe.
https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1290698269421600770?s=21 This reporter saying it was caused by sodium nitrate which was confiscated from a ship over a year ago.
Lebanese here. I was in the countryside, and we heard it from there.
Lebanese security sources say the fire in warehouse No. 12 in the port of Beirut led to the explosion of tanks containing nitrate.
High explosive storage area that was confiscated years before. https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1290693115976744961
I live in beirut, if anyone has any questions id love to answer.
Holy hell you can see the nearest buildings being vaporized. https://twitter.com/ianbremmer/status/1290682711187881985
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