On August 4th, 2020 a massive explosion left more than 100 people dead and 5,000 people injured. The numbers will steadily increase as survivors and rescuers scramble to find more victims. Lebanese investigators said that a fire appeared to trigger ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse that entered Beirut's port caused the explosion.

The radius of the blast went as far as 150 miles away in Cyprus on Tuesday. Immediately the surrounding area could see the devastating gust and the wind speed that rocked houses. Prime Minister Hassan Diab is calling for those responsible to be held accountable for their negiglence. The scale of this damage left agriculture in ruined, hundreds of families displaced, and many more injured. Hospitals are overwhelmed with the large scale of victims, additionally the scale is a current estimation since people everyday are discovered, thus supplies are limited.

President Donald Trump insensitively made unfounded claims on the explosion by inferring it was an "attack" during his Tuesday briefing.

"'It would seem like it based on the explosion. I met with some of our great generals and they just seem to feel that it was. This was not a — some kind of a manufacturing explosion type of a event. ... They seem to think it was an attack. It was a bomb of some kind, yes."

Beirut currently is in a state of emergency with the Lebanese President Michel Aoun expressing his deepest sympathy during an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday. He thanked hospital personnel and rescuers for working tirelessly during this crisis. He called for an immediate investigation to know the full details on what occurred prior to the explosion on Tuesday.

Beirut is already under severe economic pressure, the estimated damage to recover from this explosion could set them back decades. Estimated funds could be between $3 billion and $5 billion, and that fund could be extended. The additional costs of the homeless, hospital supplies, and any necessary materials to help Beirut. People saw their home be destroyed before their eyes, apartments lost, family gone, their livelihood was destroyed right before their eyes. Rescue workers are currently excavating ruined buildings to find any survivors. Many haven't seen damage like this since its civil war between 1975 to 1990. Furthermore, EU countries are offering their support to Beirut as we speak, additional details should be announced at a later date.

If anyone is willing to help the residents of Beirut, you can donate to the American National Red Cross or Lebanese Red Cross.