Posted on 08/05/2020 11:45:13 AM PDT by Red Badger
Aug. 5 (UPI) -- Authorities in Beirut have increased the death count from the devastating explosions on Tuesday to at least 135, while one official said Wednesday it could cost Lebanon's capital as much as $5 billion to recover.
Lebanese President Michel Aoun called for an emergency Cabinet meeting and asked for a two-week state of emergency.
Beirut Gov. Marwan Abboud said about 300,000 were homeless after the blasts and estimated repair costs in the billions. Lebanese Red Cross workers searched abandoned neighborhoods on Wednesday, reporting more than 5,000 injured.
Abboud told local media that damages could range from $3 billion to $5 billion, or "maybe more." The death toll was in the dozens on Tuesday and had risen to triple digits on Wednesday, the Red Cross said.
Officials said they expect the toll to rise as they dig through the debris.
Authorities believe an initial explosion occurred at a warehouse near Beirut's port and ignited a fire, followed by multiple smaller explosions and, finally, a massive blast that caused the most damage. They said stored ammonium nitrate in the area was the likely source.
Seismologists said the biggest explosion was equivalent to a 3.3-magnitude earthquake.
Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab, declaring Wednesday a national day of mourning, has vowed to investigate the explosions and said anyone who may have facilitated them will be held accountable.
Diab said it has long been known that storing ammonium nitrate at the location was a hazard.
The accident could not have come at a worse time for Lebanon, which has been fighting to overcome a major economic crisis because of the devaluation of its currency. Officials said silos that held about 85% of Lebanon's grain were destroyed in the blasts.
Raoul Nehme, Lebanon's economy minister, said seven employees at the port's granaries are missing and that Lebanon now has less than a month's worth of grain reserves.
At least two Instagram accounts were established for those looking for loved ones in Beirut. One of the accounts also is posting lists of people admitted to various hospitals in the city, to help people find family members.
The World Health Organization said it's sending 23 tons of aid from its warehouse in Dubai, including medical trauma kits carrying syringes, bandages and gauze.
Germany has sent a team that includes dozens of search and rescue experts to aid with finding survivors and victims. France, Qatar, Iraq and Kuwait are said they are also sending supplies.
There’s a zoomed in video on twitter that supposedly shows bodies flying through the air at the zenith of the blast.
These are the people who danced in the street after the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. Screw them.
After seeing the explosion and that monster shockwave, I was really expecting the death toll to be even higher.
Agreed.
Many bodies had to have been just vaporized.
While not a terror attack, this seems to me to be comparable to 9/11 in scope of devastation for them.
Some witnesses allege those bodies were wearing Hezbollah uniforms.
I don’t doubt the fertilizer did blow.
It’s the cause I’m suspicious of.
I watched the video and if you had told me that was a tactical nuke going off I would have believed you.
135 dead? I’d bet more than that we’re vaporized.
It’s not that hazardous to store,if kept dry from fuel oil. We used to use it sometimes in seismic work. I tend to think it had help...
Carlos Osweda says the blast was Iranian missile warheads going boom judging from the color of the smoke.
https://threadreaderapp.com/user/COsweda
Yep, some will never be found.................
‘Radical elements’? Sounds familiar
“about 300,000 were homeless”
How many tested positive for COVID?
Look at this Twitter video of the moments just prior to the explosion.
Look closely at the smoke and fire and you will see sparkles popping off around the building like fireworks, then one goes off and BOOM!.................
I am predicting with this explosion and several middle east warehouse fires, Iran will be free by Nov 5 election as a PDJT October surprise.
I’m not really buying the fertilizer excuse
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Me neither! Just cannot believe this incident was happenstance. Crazy ness prevails in that part of the world and anything and everything is suspect.
And they’re still looking.
I wouldn’t have.
No intense flash of light.
Watch the Atomic Bomb movie and you’ll see the differences immediately.
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