2020 Beirut explosions — accidental ammonium nitrate explosion in Beirut, Lebanon
The 2020 Beirut port explosion, one of the largest non-nuclear blasts ever recorded, killed at least 218 people and destabilized Lebanon's government.
Key Facts
- Ammonium nitrate detonated
- 2,750 tonnes
- Deaths
- at least 218
- Injuries
- 7,000
- Displaced persons
- approximately 300,000
- Property damage
- 15 billion USD
- Explosive yield
- 1.1 kilotons of TNT equivalent
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In 2014, Lebanese authorities confiscated 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate from the cargo ship MV Rhosus and stored it at the Port of Beirut without adequate safety precautions. For six years the highly explosive chemical sat in a warehouse with no proper containment, creating extreme hazard that officials failed to address despite repeated warnings.
On 4 August 2020, a fire in a warehouse near the stored ammonium nitrate triggered a catastrophic detonation at the Port of Beirut. The blast released energy equivalent to 1.1 kilotons of TNT, generating a 3.3-magnitude seismic event and a shockwave felt as far as Cyprus, 240 km away. The explosion destroyed much of the port, damaged large parts of the city, and temporarily disrupted Earth's ionosphere.
The explosion killed at least 218 people, injured 7,000, and displaced approximately 300,000 residents, with property damage estimated at US$15 billion. The Lebanese government declared a two-week state of emergency. Ongoing protests intensified, forcing Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his cabinet to resign on 10 August 2020, deepening an already severe political and economic crisis in Lebanon.