On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, as well as leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. A cargo of 2,750 tonnes of the substance (equivalent to around 1.1 kilotons of TNT) had been stored in a warehouse without proper safety measures for the previous six years after having been confiscated by Lebanese authorities from the abandoned ship MV Rhosus. The explosion was preceded by a fire in the same warehouse.
The blast was so powerful that it physically shook the whole country of Lebanon. It was felt in Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Israel, as well as parts of Europe, and was heard in Cyprus, more than 240 km (150 mi) away. It was detected by the United States Geological Survey as a seismic event of magnitude 3.3 and is considered one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions on record. It was powerful enough to affect Earth's ionosphere.[1][2][3] Following the explosion, there were suspicions regarding Hezbollah's involvement due to allegations that the explosion occurred at a site storing Hezbollah's weapons. Hezbollah denied these allegations but has been actively involved in demonstrations against the investigation into the explosion.[4][5][6]
The Lebanese government declared a two-week state of emergency in response to the disaster. In its aftermath, protests erupted across Lebanon against the government for their failure to prevent the disaster, joining a larger series of protests which had been taking place across the country since 2019. On 10 August 2020, Prime Minister Hassan Diab and the Lebanese cabinet resigned.
The adjacent grain silos were badly damaged. In July and August 2022, part of the silos collapsed following a weeks-long fire in the remaining grain.
^Kundu, Bhaskar; Senapati, Batakrushna; Matsushita, Ai; Heki, Kosuke (2 February 2021). "Atmospheric wave energy of the 2020 August 4 explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, from ionospheric disturbances". Scientific Reports. 11 (1): 2793. Bibcode:2021NatSR..11.2793K. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-82355-5. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 7854621. PMID 33531554.
^McRae, Mike (19 March 2021). "The Tragic Beirut Explosion Was So Violent, It Disturbed Earth's Ionosphere". ScienceAlert. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
^Ozdemir, Derya (18 March 2021). "The Beirut Explosion's Atmospheric Wave Shook the Ionosphere". interestingengineering.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
^"Hezbollah Rattled by Beirut Port Blast Probe". Voice of America. 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
^Qiblawi, Tamara (23 September 2021). "Hezbollah threatened top judge probing Beirut port blast, source says". CNN. Archived from the original on 11 October 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
^"Hezbollah's campaign against Beirut blast judge paralyses Lebanon's government". France 24. 19 October 2021. Archived from the original on 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
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