Ever since a devastating explosion at the Beirut Port on Aug. 4, Lebanon has been rocked by a series of blasts and forest fires.
On Friday night, a diesel tank exploded inside a Beirut building, killing five people and injuring 59 others.
The force of the blast destroyed part of the building in the Tariq Jedideh area and caused damages to nearby houses.
The next day, the Lebanese woke up to the news of another explosion in Beirut.
One person was killed and two others were injured when a gas canister blew up at a restaurant in the Ashrafieh area.
Such blasts raised concern among residents of major cities that they would witness similar scenarios in the future as people stock up on fuel before the Central Bank lifts its subsidies.
The head of the Higher Relief Council, Maj. Gen. Mohammed Kheir, admitted that his administration has been facing huge difficulties in confronting the consecutive disasters hitting the country.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Kheir said that the Council has consumed all its budget, which makes it incapable of facing such disasters.
He revealed that the Council had in the past received donations from friendly Gulf and Western countries. But such assistance to state agencies has now come to an end, Kheir told the newspaper.
Foreign aid is going to non-governmental organizations rather than the state, he said.
Tariq Jedideh’s explosion came two months after the massive blast at Beirut’s port killed nearly 200 people, injured about 6,500 and caused damage worth billions of dollars. Nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded after being stored at the facility for six years.
Residents of the building rocked by the diesel tank blast and nearby houses were evacuated on Saturday.
Kheir said that his Council has provided them with temporary housing.
In other parts of Lebanon, wildfires erupted in forests amid a heatwave hitting the country. Some of the fires broke out in the Shouf district.
The Secretary-General of the Lebanese Red Cross, George Kettaneh, said his organization is on full alert and ready to deal with any emergency.
“The Red Cross not only rescues those injured in explosions and fires, but also plays its main role in confronting many crises and disasters," he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He revealed that the organization suffers from lack of funding and that its equipment has dwindled in numbers. “Yet it continues to play its humanitarian role.”
