The latest out of Beirut on the suspected explosion of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse in the port is that at least 100 killed with thousands more wounded or missing:
Massive Beirut explosion kills at least 100, wounds more than 4,000 https://t.co/GkT4NHhkv4
— Daily Breeze (@DailyBreezeNews) August 5, 2020
According to reports, the dangerous explosive was stored here for years:
Initial investigations indicate years of inaction and negligence over the storage of highly explosive material in #Beirut port caused the blast that killed over 100 people on Tuesday.@akhbarhttps://t.co/d6pALVAVG6
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) August 5, 2020
There’s a huge crater where the warehouse once stood:
This morning's pictures from #Beirut clearly show the blast seat of the main explosion in the form of giant crater, confirming that explosive materials stored in the hangar as the primary source of the main explosion. pic.twitter.com/uw4FwKZ0s0
— Sim Tack (@SimTack) August 5, 2020
Nanny-cam footage captured this family looking directly at the blast when the shockwave imploded their windows (luckily nobody seems to have sustained serious injuries):
#BeirutBlast pic.twitter.com/XlJglwCb5r
— Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) August 5, 2020
And we’re starting to see before-and-after photos of the absolute destruction:
We have the first satellite picture captured this morning over Beirut (right) 2020-08-05 by @planetlabs vs 2020-07-26 (left). Red circled area is where the explosion took place. pic.twitter.com/Bsa4E8f95u
— Sam (@Samir_Madani) August 5, 2020
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Wow:
LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT CRATER pic.twitter.com/ylYatwsblW
— Sam (@Samir_Madani) August 5, 2020
Here’s another shot of ground zero:
A video showing the before and after of Beirut's main port after Yesterday's explosion, using drone imagery from today, shared by @Dalatrm.
The crater is submerged to a diameter of 140m. pic.twitter.com/0xluycFK5U
— Nathan Ruser (@Nrg8000) August 5, 2020
And another:
Before and after images from the #explosion that happened in #Beirut, #Lebanon on August 4, 2020. Before image from June 2020 and after image from today, August 5, 2020. More imagery showing the devastation will follow. pic.twitter.com/dfj4ItyTXL
— Maxar Technologies (@Maxar) August 5, 2020
According to reports, the damage was extensive throughout the city:
The #Beirut explosion left up to 300,000 people temporarily homeless, says the governor.
The blast damaged half the city, destroying windows and entire homes, with damage estimated at $3-5B.
It comes as Lebanon suffers a major economic crisis, with poverty levels nearing 50%. pic.twitter.com/4pN2UUT8pS
— AJ+ (@ajplus) August 5, 2020
And it has triggered a food crisis with an estimated 85% of Lebanon’s grain destroyed by the blast:
The #Beirut blast wiped out up to 85% of Lebanon's grain stores, triggering worries of a food crisis.
Lebanon imports most its food and is in the middle of an economic crisis.
Nearly 1 million in Beirut already don't have enough money to buy essentials, says @SaveTheChildren. pic.twitter.com/m0h6vtoUAl
— AJ+ (@ajplus) August 5, 2020
Before-and-after of the grain elevator:
Here is our grain elevator as seen from the ongoing Reuters live stream in #Beirut.
Notice how every single individual grain 'silo' is absolutely shredded.
Nearby explosion caused a sudden aeration of particulate in all canisters and thus an INCREDIBLY powerful blast. pic.twitter.com/ZzQ9d26za8
— The Intel Crab (@IntelCrab) August 4, 2020
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