The explosions that ripped through Beirut Tuesday, leaving at least 135 people dead and thousands injured, altered in an instant the face of the Mediterranean city.
Site of
blast
Med.
Sea
1 MILE
Beirut
3 MILES
TURKEY
5 MILES
SYRIA
CYPRUS
Detail
LEBANON
Rafik
Hariri
Int’l
Airport
ISRAEL
JOR.
EGYPT
100 MILES
Sources: July 24 Sentinel 2 imagery, OpenStreetMap
Site of blast
Med.
Sea
Beirut
1 MILE
TURKEY
3 MILES
SYRIA
CYPRUS
Detail
LEBANON
5 MILES
Rafik
Hariri
Int’l
Airport
ISRAEL
JOR.
EGYPT
100 MILES
Sources: July 24 Sentinel 2 imagery, OpenStreetMap
Site of
blast
Mediterranean
Sea
Beirut
1 MILE
TURKEY
SYRIA
CYPRUS
3 MILES
Detail
LEBANON
Rafik
Hariri
Int’l
Airport
ISRAEL
JOR.
5 MILES
EGYPT
100 MILES
Sources: July 24 ESA Sentinel 2 imagery and OpenStreetMap
The exact sequence of events remains uncertain. But it is clear that the blasts originated around Warehouse 12 in Beirut’s port area, where 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate had been stored for years, according to Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab. The dangerous chemical, used for fertilizer and found commonly in homemade bombs, had been kept near vital goods, like grain silos storing Lebanon’s national grain reserve.
[What we know about the Beirut explosions]
June 9
500 FEET
Beirut Harbor
Warehouse
12
Grain
Silo
Satellite image source: ©2020 Maxar Technologies
June 9
Beirut Harbor
500 FEET
Warehouse
12
Grain
Silo
Satellite image source: ©2020 Maxar Technologies
June 9
NORTH
Warehouse 12
Beirut
Harbor
Grain Silo
500 FEET
Satellite image source: ©2020 Maxar Technologies
June 9
NORTH
Beirut Harbor
Warehouse 12
Grain Silo
500 FEET
Satellite image source: ©2020 Maxar Technologies
June 9
NORTH
Beirut Harbor
Warehouse 12
Grain Silo
500 FEET
Satellite image source: ©2020 Maxar Technologies
About 6 p.m. local time, something sparked an explosion, which ignited a fire that appears to have triggered a mammoth blast. It sent red-tinged smoke billowing into the sky and shock waves well beyond the city.
The area around the port was demolished.
August 5
500 FEET
Beirut
Harbor
Capsized
passenger ship
Warehouse
12
Grain
Silo
Satellite image source: ©2020 Maxar Technologies
August 5
Beirut Harbor
Capsized
passenger ship
500 FEET
Warehouse
12
Grain
Silo
Satellite image source: ©2020 Maxar Technologies
August 5
NORTH
Capsized
passenger ship
Warehouse 12
Beirut
Harbor
Grain Silo
500 FEET
Satellite image source: ©2020 Maxar Technologies
August 5
NORTH
Capsized
passenger ship
Beirut Harbor
Warehouse 12
Grain Silo
500 FEET
Satellite image source: ©2020 Maxar Technologies
August 5
NORTH
Capsized
passenger ship
Beirut Harbor
Warehouse 12
Grain Silo
500 FEET
Satellite image source: ©2020 Maxar Technologies
Smoke rises above Beirut on Aug. 5, a day after explosions ripped through the city. (Hussein Malla/AP)
Buildings collapsed. The shock wave tore through apartments and sent people flying for cover. Some were trapped under the rubble.
[The stunning moments when Beirut’s blasts upended individual lives, captured on video by chance]
The initial death toll is expected to climb, the Lebanese Red Cross said Wednesday.
Marwan Abboud, Beirut’s governor, said Wednesday the explosions left as many as a quarter of a million people homeless in a city already facing an economic crisis and a novel coronavirus outbreak. Repairs would cost $5 billion, he estimated.
