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On 4 August 2020, a major explosion occurred in Beirut, Lebanon, caused by the ignition of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate.

The chemical, confiscated in 2014 from the cargo ship MV Rhosus and stored at the Port of Beirut without adequate safety measures for six years, detonated after a fire broke out in a nearby warehouse. The explosion resulted in at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and approximately 300,000 displaced people, alongside property damage estimated at US$15 billion. The blast released energy comparable to 1.1 kilotons of TNT, ranking it among the most powerful non-nuclear explosions ever recorded and the largest single detonation of ammonium nitrate. The explosion generated a seismic event measuring 3.3 in magnitude, as reported by the United States Geological Survey. Adjacent grain silos at the Port of Beirut sustained major damage. In July and August 2022, two years after the explosion, portions of the silos collapsed following fires caused by remaining grain stocks. The Lebanese government declared a two-week state of emergency in response to the disaster. Protests, which had been ongoing since 2019, grew in scale, leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his cabinet on 10 August 2020. Claims surfaced suggesting Hezbollah's possible connection to the explosion, citing unverified reports of weapons stored at the site.

The morning before the explosion, the head of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, which served as the main COVID-19 medical facility in Lebanon, warned that it was approaching full capacity. The Beirut Naval Base is a part of the port.

Around 17:45 local time (14:45 UTC) on 4 August 2020, a fire broke out in Warehouse 12 at the Port of Beirut.

Another study used several videos of the explosion to describe the evolution of the fireball size and estimated the Beirut explosion yield to be 0.6 ± 0.3 kt of TNT. The Beirut explosion was similar to explosions of large amounts of ammonium nitrate in Texas City, United States, in 1947; in Toulouse, France, in 2001; and Tianjin, China, in 2015. It has been suggested that not all of the ammonium nitrate was still in the warehouse at the time of the explosion.

Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport, the city's main airport, about 10 km (6 mi) from the site of the blast, sustained moderate damage to the terminal buildings during the explosion.

In December 2020, Lebanon's outgoing Prime Minister Diab and three former ministers were charged with negligence over the Beirut port explosion. In an interview with Reuters at his home in Damascus on 28 January 2021, Syrian-Russian businessman George Haswani denied any links to the Beirut explosion knew nothing about a company linked to the process of buying a shipment of chemicals that exploded. In January 2026, Gracia Azzi was appointed director general of customs by the Lebanese cabinet, sparking criticism for being under investigation for the Beirut port explosion, though supporters emphasized her legal presumption of innocence.

On 6 August 2020, the Lebanese Forces Party's executive chairman Samir Geagea was the first politician to visit Beirut and launched from there a relief committee, Ground-0, under the leadership of the former minister Dr.

The Lebanese Forces Party MPs called for an international investigation into the causes of the double explosion at the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020.

In August 2021, a memorial event marking the one-year-anniversary of the explosion was held in tribute to the victims at the Port of Beirut, joined by UN officials and International Labour Organization Regional Director Ruba Jaradat. In December 2021, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Environment Programme, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Labour Organization, and International Maritime Organization held a seminar in follow-up to the explosion.

Explosion in Beirut: Photos From a City Still Reeling From the Blast by Time

Quick Facts

• Adjacent grain silos at the Port of Beirut sustained major damage.
• The Lebanese Forces Party MPs called for an international investigation into the causes of the double explosion at the port of Beirut on 4 August 2020.
• In December 2020, Lebanon's outgoing Prime Minister Diab and three former ministers were charged with negligence over the Beirut port explosion.
• The chemical, confiscated in 2014 from the cargo ship MV Rhosus and stored at the Port of Beirut without adequate safety measures for six years, detonated after a fire broke out in a nearby warehouse.
• Protests, which had been ongoing since 2019, grew in scale, leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his cabinet on 10 August 2020.

Source material: Wikipedia - "2020 Beirut explosion". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.