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'Catastrophe' in Beirut: Death toll rises, 200,000 homeless as blast leaves city in disarray
NBC via Yahoo ^ | August 5th, 2020 | Adela Suliman and Yuliya Talmazan and Charlene Gubash and Tim Stelloh and Mustafa Kassem and Courtne

Posted on 08/05/2020 8:54:56 PM PDT by Mariner

A huge rescue operation and an international aid effort got underway Wednesday, less than 24 hours after much of Beirut was buried by rubble and choked by smoke in a colossal explosion Tuesday afternoon.

Lebanese health minister Hamad Hasan said 135 people have been killed and 5,000 injured in the explosion. Dozens of people are still missing.

Those figures look set to rise with hospitals overwhelmed and victims still trapped underneath debris.

"There is no word to describe the horror of the catastrophe that occurred in Beirut yesterday," Lebanese President Michel Aoun said during an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the Lebanese News Agency reported.

"I extend my heart and feelings to the families...and I ask God to heal the wounded, heal the broken hearts, and provide us with all the energy and determination to stand together to confront the painful burns that have scarred the face of Beirut."

Aoun thanked emergency workers and officials and vowed to conduct a full investigation into the cause of the deadly blast, which is still not clear.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ammoniumnitrate; beirut; lebanon
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The USGS says this blast was the equivalent of 1.1KT of TNT.

Those of us who say it on video knew it was a big one.

1 posted on 08/05/2020 8:54:56 PM PDT by Mariner
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To: Mariner

Is Hezbollah blaming Israel yet?

They will be....


2 posted on 08/05/2020 8:56:43 PM PDT by volunbeer (Find the truth and accept it - anything else is delusional)
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To: volunbeer

They said Israel did not do it.


3 posted on 08/05/2020 8:58:36 PM PDT by PghBaldy (12/14 - 930am -rampage begins... 12/15 - 1030am - Obama's advance team scouts photo-op locations.)
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To: Mariner

1.1? Yesterday it was 3.3. So not as big as they thought?


4 posted on 08/05/2020 8:59:06 PM PDT by Fai Mao (There is no justice until The PIAPS is legally executed)
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To: Mariner; All

Ammonium nitrate disasters

“On August 4, a major fire broke out in the Port of Beirut warehouse. It has spread to 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, which had been impounded and stored for six years after it was seized from an abandoned ship in 2014.[36] It then detonated, then causing immense damage throughout the entire city. The shockwave reportedly was so intense that it was felt in Cyprus, a north-western island about 240 km (150 miles) away from Lebanon.[37] A giant orange mushroom cloud was seen following the detonation. Currently, there are at least 5,000 confirmed injuries and 135 confirmed deaths. [38][39] Up to 300,000 people have lost their homes according to Beirut’s city governor.[40]”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_nitrate_disaster


5 posted on 08/05/2020 8:59:12 PM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire. Or both.)
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To: PghBaldy

Hezbollah always blames Israel. Always. They can screw up on video with 10000 witnesses and still blame Israel.

Hezbollah (Iran’s proxy) only cares about destroying Israel. They don’t care about Lebanon.


6 posted on 08/05/2020 8:59:44 PM PDT by volunbeer (Find the truth and accept it - anything else is delusional)
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To: volunbeer
Blaming Israel started about 5 minutes after the explosion.

I am interested in the idea that the AN was brought to Lebanon by a Ukrainian arms dealer. It was “seized” by port authorities - which is Hezbollah, and has been stored while waiting for a ship to take it to Haifa to attack the city by sea.

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/nasrallah-threatened-to-blow-up-israel-with-same-chemicals-as-beirut-blast-637582

7 posted on 08/05/2020 9:01:14 PM PDT by texas booster (Join FreeRepublic's Folding@Home team (Team # 36120) Cure Alzheimer's!)
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We’re up to 21 topics about the Beirut blast, which isn’t a bad thing.

https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3871745/posts


8 posted on 08/05/2020 9:08:27 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: texas booster

9 posted on 08/05/2020 9:13:38 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: Fai Mao

Ammonium nitrate is less energetic than TNT, such that the explosion of 2750 tons, i.e. 2.75 kt, of the former has “only” the blast energy of 1.1-1.2 kt of TNT. The times I’ve seen the latter numbers mentioned in other articles was in the context of kt TNT blast equivalent.


10 posted on 08/05/2020 9:16:20 PM PDT by coloradan (The Enemy Media isn't chartered to inform but rather to advance the interests of certain elites.)
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To: Fai Mao

3.3 earthquake, 1.1kt explosion.

Hiroshima was 8kt.


11 posted on 08/05/2020 9:16:39 PM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: Mariner

Of course it’s all just big bang theory.

If you were in 1/2 mile, you’re lucky to be alive. Unless you’re under the rubble.


12 posted on 08/05/2020 9:19:38 PM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: PghBaldy

it was a warehouse full of ammonium nitrate in lebanon, not under israeli control

that stuff would have ended up in bombs at israel

sure as hell dont use it for fertilizer


13 posted on 08/05/2020 9:20:24 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; Not Averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Mariner

Hiroshima was about 15 KT.


14 posted on 08/05/2020 9:25:31 PM PDT by Ancesthntr ("The right to buy weapons is the right to be free." A. E. van Vogt, The Weapons Shops of Isher)
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To: texas booster

“Blaming Israel started about 5 minutes after the explosion.”

The local people in Beirut think Israel did the bombing/explosion.

As I’ve posted on other threads, I have a friend here in the States who is from Lebanon — whose family and friends in Lebanon think Israel is responsible. It doesn’t matter what the “official” report is from Beirut, or news reports from the U.S., or from anywhere. They think Israel did it and won’t accept any other explanation.

I don’t think Israel would do something to harm so many innocent Beirut citizens, but then again, I may be wrong.

My friend also said it was well known in Beirut that Hezbollah had munitions stored there at the port.

I think it’s great Hezbollah took a major hit, but how terrible the loss of life and injuries to so many people.


15 posted on 08/05/2020 9:44:25 PM PDT by Cedar
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To: BenLurkin
Unfortunately Beirut's Officials had been warned about this storage by the Port Authorities, (with 7 documentations), for years that if they didn't remove it this would be exactly what would happen......obviously those warnings were ignored. Such an unnecessary loss of life and injuries all around.
16 posted on 08/05/2020 9:47:41 PM PDT by caww
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To: Mariner

Nation of Jordan reported it registered there as a 4.5 Earthquake.


17 posted on 08/05/2020 9:48:52 PM PDT by caww
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To: Mariner
So when will the people of Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and all the rest of these supposedly "peaceful" countries inhabited by the "peaceful religion" of Islam come to their senses? Answer: never. The problem in the middle east and the world ad hoc is Islam. A "religion" started by an epileptic thief, murderer, adulterer, child abuser, and phony "prophet." There will never be piece anywhere the Saracens go to corrupt and destroy everything in following their evil "religion."

One bomb on the Kaaba will prove their religion is worthless. No one dares complete the easy solution to proving this phony "religion" wrong. Any thoughts?

18 posted on 08/05/2020 9:49:39 PM PDT by Fungi
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To: SunkenCiv

Well it’s such a rare and unusual destructive event so I expect the news would, and should, cover it for days if not weeks.


19 posted on 08/05/2020 9:50:19 PM PDT by caww
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To: Cedar
Lebanese are like Palestinians in that respect.....it's ingrained in them to always blame Israel......like lacks here always blame white people or the cops. It's a victim mentality that doesn't ever listen to facts because some folks are just wired to react that way.
20 posted on 08/05/2020 9:53:58 PM PDT by caww
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