The governor of Beirut said hundreds of thousands have been left homeless by Tuesday’s explosion, which he compared to Hiroshima.
Gov. Marwan Abboud told Agence France-Presse that between 250,000 and 300,000 people living in the city are now without homes because of the colossal damage caused by the enormous blast. He also estimated the damage to be close to $5 billion. Abboud labeled the incident a “national catastrophe,” according to CNN.
“It resembles to what happened in Japan, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That’s what [it] reminds me of. In my life, I haven’t seen destruction on this scale,” he said.
The death toll from the explosion continued to rise as daylight broke over Lebanon on Wednesday after a night of frenzied efforts to recover victims. The Lebanese Red Cross cautioned that the death toll, now surpassing 100, is expected to rise as workers continue to sift through the rubble of the disaster. At least 4,000 people were wounded in the blast.
President Trump speculated that the explosion may have been the result of a bomb going off in an “attack,” but Lebanese officials have not voiced the same opinion and are still investigating the cause of the blast. Authorities believe there may have been some 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the port, which was the epicenter of the explosion.
Abboud was asked whether the blast came as a result of a fire.
“We don’t know. There was a fire, the [firefighters] came to put it out, then the explosion happened, and they went missing. We are looking for them,” the governor said.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the White House to respond to Trump’s claims. The Pentagon referred the Washington Examiner to the White House when contacted Tuesday night.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a Tuesday statement that the United States is ready to assist Lebanon in its recovery, although he did not speculate on the cause of the explosion.
“I’d like to extend my deepest condolences to all those affected by the massive explosion at the port of Beirut today,” Pompeo said. “We are closely monitoring and stand ready to assist the people of Lebanon as they recover from this tragedy.”
The recovery effort comes as Lebanon, similar to other countries, is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. More than 5,200 people in Lebanon have been infected, and at least 65 people have died.
