A Terrifying Account of the Beirut Explosion
By Rohin Buch/Health Head
In the early hours of the morning in the US, or rather the early evening in Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, a huge blast was heard. In the coming hours, the Lebanese government rushed to find out why this massive blast, which had already claimed the lives of 70 and injured 4000 more, had occurred. Word was received hours later and confirmed by the Lebanese government that the explosion had, in fact, been caused by a fire that lit up over 5 million pounds of ammonium nitrate. Ammonium nitrate is a compound commonly found in fertilizers and bombs due to its reactive nature. So, the fact that this stockpile of ammonium nitrate which had been seized from a ship in 2013 caught on fire was a shock to everyone.
One Beiruti, who had previously lived in Baghdad, Iraq and seen ammonium nitrate bombs gone off, curiously mentioned to CNN that ammonium nitrate bombs almost always had a yellow cloud of smoke that accompanied them while this bomb was accompanied by a deep red cloud. He commented further that the color of the smoke cloud didn't necessarily rule out ammonium nitrate as the cause of the explosion but it was something that he found peculiar.
This bomb, or better put, explosion, comes during a tense period in Lebanon. In three days, a United Nations panel is expected to pass verdict on the assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, which is something many believe will fuel the flame of class and race tensions. However, in addition, the country is also in the midst of an economic crisis. Unemployment is ballooning, the currency is tanking, and poverty rates are soaring above 50%.
Putting all this together, it is clearly visible that the Lebanese economy will be crippled by this blast for the foreseeable future. This blast not only destroyed their capital city, but will also consequently have a devastating effect on their economy, as the rebuilding of Beirut will require copious amounts of capital and time. In addition, the location of the explosion is crucial. The facility which exploded in the blast is located in the center of the capital with many important buildings and national monuments close by.
Some of these buildings which have been damaged include the residence of the Lebanese president, the headquarters of a former Lebanese prime minister, and even CNN's office in downtown Beirut. Witnesses have said that homes as far as 10 km away have been damaged, and according to the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre, even people on the island of Cyprus felt the blast. This is telling of the true size and magnitude of the explosion as the island of Cyprus is over 150 miles away from the shores of Lebanon and its capital.
Now, as far as the US's response to the horrible explosion in Beirut goes, President Trump tweeted offering sympathy to the Lebanese people and condemning the “horrible attack”. What is false about President Trump's statement is that, according to all Lebanese intelligence, this explosion was not an attack but rather a large-scale mistake. In a statement to reporters at the White House he said directly, that it was a “bomb of some kind”, going on to falsely say that “they seem[ed] to think it was an attack.” In one regard President Trump can be seen as being correct, this explosion was due to a bomb of sorts, however, as many US officials have said, and as the Lebanese government has corroborated, this explosion has no mark of being an attack.
Works Cited
Balkiz, Ghazi, et al. “Huge Explosion Rocks Beirut, Injuring Thousands across Lebanese Capital.” CNN, Cable News Network, 4 Aug. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/08/04/middleeast/beirut-explosion-port-intl/index.html.
John, Tara. “Live Updates: Lebanese Capital Rocked by Huge Explosion.” CNN, Cable News Network, 4 Aug. 2020, www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/lebanon-beirut-explosion-live-updates-dle-intl/index.html.
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