Anger mounts in Lebanon amid mourning for blast victims

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Anger is growing in the city over the government’s slow response to the disaster

French President Emmanuel Macron, making the first visit by a foreign leader since Tuesday’s (Aug 4) blast which killed at least 145 people and injured 5,000, arrived in Beirut on Thursday along with specialist rescue personnel and equipment.

Other nations have also sent in search and rescue teams and medical aid and equipment.

Economy Minister Raoul Nehme said Lebanon, with its banking system in crisis, a collapsing currency and one of the world’s biggest debt burdens, had “very limited” resources to deal with the disaster, which by some estimates could cost US$15 billion (S$20.6 billion). 

Health officials reported that hospitals were running out of beds and equipment to attend to the injured.

Gulf states were among the first to respond, with Qatar sending mobile hospitals to ease pressure on Lebanon’s already strained medical system. 

Kuwait also sent medical supplies, while a Greek C-130 army transport plane bearing a dozen rescuers had also landed.

The authorities in the Netherlands, Czech Republic and Poland offered an array of assistance including doctors, police and firefighters, together with rescue experts and sniffer dogs. 

The World Bank said on Wednesday that it would work with Lebanon’s partners to mobilise public and private financing for reconstruction and recovery. 

Qn: How far do you agree that disaster relief is best handled by countries on their own?  (EJC Mid-Yr J2 GP 2020)