A giant explosion in a Beirut port area has left hundreds dead and wounded. Video showed a fire raging around several buildings that reportedly contained explosive materials before a blast heard 150 miles away erupted, sending shockwaves through the area and putting a city already struggling with a coronavirus surge into dire straits. Multiple videos emerged of the shocking explosion. The cause of the explosions is “unknown” at the time.
Here are organizations accepting donations to help with the devastation.
- The Lebanese Red Cross is already on the ground. Donate to their efforts here.
- The Lebanese Food Bank is accepting much-needed donations.
- Beit El Baraka is a non-profit that provides groceries to people in need. You can donate here.
- Live Love Beirut is accepting donations for crisis relief right now.
- Preemptive Love is on the ground, and accepting donations.
- You can find other verified organizations here.
More photos, videos and emerging details are included below.
Oh my goodness. pic.twitter.com/kigRLV0bXB
— Tobias Schneider (@tobiaschneider) August 4, 2020
Looks like lots of minor crackling explosions preceding the big blast. Local media reports fireworks storage. Unclear for now. pic.twitter.com/pzYp34qogG
— Tobias Schneider (@tobiaschneider) August 4, 2020
“They already don’t have any more beds available in ICU,” one witness told Sky News. “It’s a humanitarian disaster.” Lebanese news outlets confirmed that Beirut’s hospitals were at “full capacity.” The Lebanese Health Minister Hassan Hamad estimated more than 25 deaths and at least 2,500 injuries as of this writing. A fifth of Beirut’s population is made up of refugees.
This is devastating. Lebanon was already spiralling, in the midst of a political and currency crisis with accelerating COVID-19 cases. People were going hungry – and that's the city's largest grain elevator right there. pic.twitter.com/HiGPBhLGVh
— Tobias Schneider (@tobiaschneider) August 4, 2020
A journalist from Kashmir showed chilling footage of the aftermath that he noted looked like “the end of the world.”
This looks like the end of the world in Lebanon.
Shocking first video emerges after #Beirut explosion.pic.twitter.com/pHy3iUIGar
— Ahmer Khan (@ahmermkhan) August 4, 2020
Update (2:52 PM CST): The death toll now stands at 50, with many more feared dead.
