Beirut Residents Wake Up to Shattered Windows and Broken Homes Morning After Blast

Broken windows and lost homes. The aftermath of the Beirut explosion has left social media full of heartbreaking images.

The world watched appalled as photos and videos of a horrific warehouse blast flooded social media on Tuesday. The blast, which took place at port warehouses storing highly explosive material was the most powerful in years in Beirut, already reeling from an economic crisis and a surge in coronavirus infections.

A day onward, as Lebanese rescue workers dig through the rubble, the death toll has already risen to 100 with nearly 4,000 people suspected to be injured.

Even as the residents of Beirut come to terms with the damage, photos, and videos of the damage that blast caused as it sent shockwaves throughout the city - shattering glass and damaging property - have been going viral on social media.

A Beirut resident took to Twitter to share photos of their home that had been destroyed by the blast. "Like so many, I’m waking up from a 2 hour nap on my sofa with gaping holes in my walls, wondering where I am going to live. So many dead, injured, missing, so much destroyed. How can the country possibly fix this and get back on its feet?," they wrote.

A journalist working with the Associated Press in Beirut shared an image of the city office on Twitter. Due to the coronavirus lockdown, the office had thankfully been empty. "The coronavirus saved us," the journalist wrote.

Many others shared videos and images of their ravaged homes and neighborhoods.

As per reports, 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, used in fertilisers and bombs, had been stored for six years at the port without safety measures. The blast has caused ripples in the Lebanese government with many questioning Lebanon's improper handling of the highly explosive material.