Why the Beirut blast was so devastating
Lebanese authorities say that the explosion, which killed at least 220 people, injured more than 5,000 and left an estimated 300,000 homeless, was caused by 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. This makes it one of the largest accidental ammonium-nitrate explosions ever recorded — so powerful that it was heard more than 200 kilometres away in Cyprus. But the disaster has had such tragic consequences for reasons unrelated to the explosion itself: it hit a country that is strained by the coronavirus pandemic and still reeling from an economic crisis. “This is a crisis layered upon multiple crises — an economic crisis, a political crisis, a health crisis,” says social scientist Charlotte Karam.
Nature | 4 min read
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario