- Catastrophe: Lebanese government declares state of emergency in Beirut after devastating explosions
- Political crisis: Lebanon's economic crash fuels protests
Beirut is once again a Phoenix city . A village destroyed as many times in its history as it was raised on its ashes. A cosmopolitan capital that exhibits skeletal buildings like open wounds from modern and ancient wars, together with the recovered splendor. On Tuesday, in a cursed cycle that repeats itself once more, Beirut suffered devastation again. Two explosions that originated in a port ship that stored ammonium nitrate, a highly dangerous material, have left more than a hundred dead and some 5,000 injured, and have reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble.
"The situation is apocalyptic, Beirut has never known this in its history," says Governor Marwan Abboud . Almost half of the city "has been destroyed or damaged," according to Abboud's first estimates. "I have made a visit to Beirut and the damages can rise to between 3,000 and 5 billion dollars," he told the Afp agency, specifying that a more detailed evaluation by experts and engineers is still awaited. Up to 300,000 people have been left homeless by the massive destruction of large residential areas surrounding the port and now depend on humanitarian agencies for shelter, water and food.
"I would have said it was a tsunami or even another Hiroshima ... It was a real hell," recalls Elie Zakaria, a resident of the Mar Mikhail neighborhood, one of those most affected by the catastrophe. The extent of the damage, both in human lives and in economic terms, may be even greater than that seen at the moment. The rescue teams continued during the day on Wednesday trying to remove dozens of people who they feared were still trapped in the rubble, according to the director general of Civil Protection, Raymond Khattar. Authorities also fear that the damaged structures of the affected buildings will eventually collapse.
One of those damaged buildings is Saint Georges Hospital , whose emergency unit was hit by the explosions and ran out of electricity. His doctors had to enable the car park to treat the wounded. The power outage killed ICU patients when the life support teams stopped, according to the newspaper 'An Nahar'. On Wednesday, the health center had to be closed due to the risk of collapse.
A hospital system that "cracks"
The tragedy confirms the total ruin that the country is suffering, weighed down by months of economic crisis that has plunged it into bankruptcy and has evidenced the neglect of its basic infrastructures. The country declared in March the first debt default in its history. Meanwhile, the impact of the coronavirus, which forced the population to be confined in the worst months of the pandemic, has deepened the economic debacle and devastated the middle class: one in three Lebanese has lost their job . Almost half of the population today lives below the poverty line, according to official statistics. Food product inflation has increased 109% between September and May, according to the World Food Program (WFP).
The collapse affects public and private healthcare. "The entire hospital system is cracking in the midst of what is - and was before the explosions - the worst crisis in the country in decades," says Heiko Wimmen , director for Lebanon, Syria and Iraq of the think tank. Crisis Group, in a telephone interview with EL MUNDO.es. The financial debacle has led to massive layoffs of healthcare personnel in recent months because a lack of income has led many families to cancel their health insurance.
The American University Hospital in Beirut, one of the largest in the country, dismissed more than 800 health workers a few days ago. It is just one example of the decline in the medical system. "The bankrupt state does not transfer funds to public health either: it cannot pay," Wimmen describes.
"Hospitals were already at the limit of their capacity and now this tragedy has brought them to a breaking point. On the one hand, they were hit by a second wave of coronaviruses , stronger than the first; they also had problems with the Difficulties in importing medical supplies due to the shortage of dollars. Beirut hospitals were also struggling with power cuts, which were only accessible for 12-18 hours a day, "he adds. The detonations have destroyed reserves of medicines stored in the port.
"The situation is catastrophic, with dozens of people still missing. Rescue teams continue to search for people trapped in their homes. Hospitals are completely overwhelmed and unable to care for the thousands of wounded who are arriving in the last 12 hours. "explains Emmanuel Massart, coordinator of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Lebanon , in an audio sent to this newspaper. "MSF has donated material to two Beirut hospitals that are receiving injuries and has established an emergency and rapid response team to try to alleviate the weight on their shoulders of Lebanese doctors," he adds.
All images from the moment of the brutal explosion in Beirut | THE WORLD
Food safety risk
The explosions have also compromised the country's food security, since they have destroyed the largest wheat silo, which was located in the port of Beirut and where 85% of the grain was deposited. In other cases, when they have not been destroyed, the stored food has been contaminated. According to the Minister of Economy and Commerce, Raoul Nehme, all the wheat has been rendered useless and contaminated and he admitted that "there are only reserves for less than a month" and that new storage tanks are being sought. The ability to import has also been very limited, since what is the second port in the country has been inoperative for months. Lebanon is 80% dependent on wheat imports and in recent months these and all international purchases of food, medicine and fuel have been affected by the financial crisis and liquidity shortage.
"The destruction of stored grain will create immediate shortages and urgent help will be needed to provide the population with food and medicine," predicts Wimmen. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) elaborated on this risk: "The destruction of the port could have a devastating effect on the population of Lebanon in terms of loss of capacity to import essential products. It will also affect the conduct of humanitarian aid, including ICRC assistance operations in Lebanon and neighboring Syria. "
The Lebanese request for international assistance has already reached out to the US, the European Union, France, the United Kingdom, the Gulf countries, Iran and even Israel.
State of emergency
The Lebanese government declared Beirut in a state of emergency for two weeks and transferred the security powers to the military authorities. President Michel Aoun has ordered the release of £ 100bn from the 2020 budget for the emergency. It also commissioned an investigation into what happened, which must present its inquiries in five days to find the culprits.
Lebanese Prime Minister Hasan Diab said the explosions were caused by the detonation of 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that were stored in the port of the Lebanese capital. "It is inadmissible," he said. "This is unacceptable and we cannot remain silent on this issue," he said.
According to initial investigations revealed by the Reuters agency, it points to negligence and years of inaction after storing highly dangerous material without security measures. "It is negligent," said an official source, noting that storage security was brought before different committees and judges and "nothing was done" to raise an order or move the material.
The Government ordered the house arrest of all Beirut port officials who have had something to do with the security of the compound and the storage of the material since 2014, while responsibilities are cleared.
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