Beirut port explosion of 4 August 2020
E26656
The Beirut port explosion of 4 August 2020 was a massive blast caused by improperly stored ammonium nitrate that devastated large parts of Lebanon’s capital, killed over 200 people, injured thousands, and triggered a severe political and economic crisis.
Observed surface forms (2)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| 2020 Beirut explosion | 1 |
| Beirut port blast | 1 |
Statements (52)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
ammonium nitrate explosion
ⓘ
explosion ⓘ industrial disaster ⓘ man-made disaster ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs |
Beirut port explosion of 4 August 2020
ⓘ
surface form:
2020 Beirut explosion
Beirut port explosion of 4 August 2020 ⓘ
surface form:
Beirut port blast
|
| blastCraterDepthApprox | approximately 43 meters ⓘ |
| blastCraterDiameterApprox | approximately 140 meters ⓘ |
| cause |
detonation of stored ammonium nitrate
ⓘ
improper storage of hazardous materials ⓘ |
| city | Beirut ⓘ |
| continent | Asia ⓘ |
| country | Lebanon ⓘ |
| date | 2020-08-04 ⓘ |
| day | 4 ⓘ |
| displacedPeople | hundreds of thousands of people ⓘ |
| districtsHeavilyDamaged |
Achrafieh
ⓘ
Gemmayzeh ⓘ Mar Mikhael ⓘ |
| economicDamage | billions of US dollars ⓘ |
| economicDamageApprox | between 3 and 15 billion US dollars ⓘ |
| economicImpact | worsened Lebanon’s economic collapse ⓘ |
| environmentalImpact | release of toxic substances and dust in Beirut ⓘ |
| estimatedAmmoniumNitrateMass | approximately 2,750 tonnes ⓘ |
| explosiveYieldApprox | equivalent to several hundred tons of TNT ⓘ |
| fatalities | over 200 people ⓘ |
| fatalitiesApprox | around 218 people ⓘ |
| heritageImpact | damage to historic buildings in central Beirut ⓘ |
| homelessPeopleApprox | around 300,000 people ⓘ |
| humanRightsConcern | allegations of political interference in investigation ⓘ |
| injuries | thousands of people ⓘ |
| injuriesApprox | over 6,000 people ⓘ |
| internationalResponse |
donor conferences organized by France and others
ⓘ
emergency aid from multiple countries ⓘ |
| investigatedBy |
Lebanese authorities
ⓘ
international experts ⓘ |
| legalControversy | domestic investigation repeatedly stalled ⓘ |
| location | Port of Beirut ⓘ |
| materialInvolved | ammonium nitrate ⓘ |
| mediaCoverage | extensive global news coverage ⓘ |
| month | August ⓘ |
| politicalImpact | deepened Lebanon’s political crisis ⓘ |
| region | Middle East ⓘ |
| shockwaveFeltDistance | over 200 kilometers away ⓘ |
| socialImpact | sparked widespread public anger over corruption and negligence ⓘ |
| storageSite | Warehouse 12 at Port of Beirut ⓘ |
| triggeredEvent |
2020–2021 Lebanese protests escalation
ⓘ
resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab ⓘ resignation of Lebanese government in August 2020 ⓘ |
| UNResponse | United Nations humanitarian assistance to Lebanon ⓘ |
| windowsShatteredRadius | several kilometers ⓘ |
| year | 2020 ⓘ |
Referenced by (3)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
2020 Beirut explosion
this entity surface form:
Beirut port blast