Horrors and loss haunt Beirut blast survivors two years on
Two years have passed since a huge explosion at Beirut’s port killed more than 215 people and devastated parts of the Lebanese capital, but many residents are still haunted by traumatic memories of 4 August 2020.
The explosion was caused by ammonium nitrate unsafely stored at the port since 2013, and is widely seen by Lebanese as a symbol of corruption and bad governance by a ruling elite that has also steered the country into a grinding financial crisis.
To mark the second anniversary of the disaster, the Thomson Reuters Foundation spoke to four residents from Mar Mikhael and other hard-hit neighbourhoods.
Here are their stories: “When I heard the explosion, I knew it was something big – I just didn’t expect it to cost me my job, and my house, as well as change my life forever. “My husband and I survived the blast, but we still feel as though our lives came to an end.
