Beirut Governor: explosion leaves 300,000 people homeless
The governor of Lebanon's capital also revealed losses resulted from the explosion are expected to be between three and five billion dollars.
Beirut's governor Marwan Aboud said that the explosion at the port in Lebanon's capital which took place yesterday afternoon will have costs of between three and five billion dollars, with some 300,000 people left temporarily homeless after the blast made their homes uninhabitable.
Aboud also noted that half of the capital city has been seriously impacted by the explosion: "Almost half of Beirut was either impacted or destroyed. It's a catastrophic situation Beirut has never experienced in its whole history".
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The Lebanese capital was massively shaken yesterday by an explosion at its port resulting in the death of 135 individuals according to the latest figures given on Wednesday afternoon, with some 5,000 people injured.
Lebanon declared an official period of mourning of three days following the explosion to pay tribute to the victims and casualties. The port and its surrounding areas have almost been completely destroyed. According to the Lebanese government the cause of the explosion was 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate.
Beirut explosion could be the result of "negligence"
The governor also revealed there has been a security report outstanding since 2014 warning about the ammonium nitrate stored at the docks, with the possibility Beirut could be hit by a major explosion. "The highly explosive substances were confiscated as per court's decision and stored in a manner inconsiderate of public safety".
Aboud also told Lebanese TV channel LBC: "We lost 10 members of Beirut's firefighters and the damage volume averages between 3-5 billion dollars, while hundreds of families in Beirut have become homeless".