Hey guys, it’s Sussan Mourad with Clevver News, and after a massive explosion in the
Lebanese capital of Beirut resulted in many casualties and severe destruction, celebrities
including Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian are sending their love and support to the
people affected.
Millions of people around the world are coming together in support of the people of Lebanon,
as tragedy struck on Tuesday in the capital city of Beirut, when a massive explosion killed
over 100 people and left thousands injured.
Lebanon immediately went into a state of emergency following the explosion that could be heard
over hundreds of miles away, according to many reports.
As of Wednesday afternoon, local news organization LBCI reported that at least 5,000 people were
injured, 135 were killed, and hundreds were still missing.
At this time, the cause of the explosion is unclear, however, Lebanon’s president Michael
Aoun, has revealed that there will be an ongoing investigation into the blast as soon as possible,
and that the results would be publicly shared.
Although some have claimed the incident to be intentional, news outlets, including The
New York Times and the BBC, have reported that “highly explosive materials” described
as “thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate” were seized by the government over six years
ago and were stored unsafely in a warehouse where the blast occurred.
It has also been reported that one of the explosions was caused by a fire at a warehouse
at Beirut’s port.
CNN also reported that Prime Minister Hassan Diab revealed that “an estimated 2,750 tons
of ammonium nitrate had been stored in a port warehouse for six years without preventative
measures.”
As soon as news broke, millions of people took to social media to share their love and
support, as well as many celebrities.
Ariana Grande took to Instagram and Twitter to share some donation links, along with a
message saying, “my heart, strength and condolences are with Lebanon and everyone
affected by this tragedy.
please support / donate if you’re able to, i will be doing so too.”
Kim Kardashian also tweeted, “Pray For Beirut,”
in addition to sharing a swipe up link to her instagram stories for ways to help with
the caption QUOTE “Pray For Beirut.
A massive explosion ripped through central Beirut on Tuesday, killing 50+ people, injuring
thousands and blowing out windows in buildings across the city.”
Kylie Jenner also shared a link to Lebanon disaster relief via Instagram stories.
Halsey asked her followers to share as much info as they can regarding ways to help out,
saying, QUOTE “my heart is aching looking at these photos in Beirut.
I have read from a lot of people that petitions aren’t effective and donations can result
in a dramatic exchange decrease.
Can someone share with me direct information about how we can help most effectively and
immediately?”
DJ Khaled also shared an Instagram post that read, “Pray for Beirut, Lebanon.”
Bebe Rexha, Nina Dobrev, Heidi Klum, Kate Hudson and many others shared Instagram stories
dedicated to the devastating news, as they continue to pray for the people affected.
And celebrities like Dua Lipa, Demi Lovato and Bella Hadid took this opportunity to educate
their fans on the many other crises occurring simultaneously in Lebanon, including the ongoing
social, health, political and economical crises - which have now been exacerbated by Covid
19.
Dua’s post also listed many at-home remedies in the event any of her followers were exposed
to ammonium nitrate that day, as well as resources to donate.
Dua’s post also shed light on the impact of the explosion on the port, not just due
to its surrounding destruction, but a problem that goes far beyond the city’s infrastructure.
The post read, “Food was imported at the port.
The grain silos where wheat was stored have been destroyed.
People can’t afford home repairs.
In a country that was already suffering, things were looking very grim.”
Bella revealed in her post that she will be donating to the Lebanese Red Cross, saying
QUOTE, “300,000 people have been displaced and have become homeless.
This explosion is coming during one of the hardest times for Lebanon in history... with
an unprecedented economic crisis and famine, political unrest, homelessness, the pandemic
and the unemployment rate plummeting, we NEED to support the people of Lebanon.”
While the country is already struggling with the effects of COVID-19 and a shortage of
medical supplies, this tragedy puts Lebanon in even more of a bind, as healthcare is extremely
underfunded and hospitals were already overcrowded due to the pandemic.
A post re-shared by Demi Lovato from instagram account @theslacktivists detailed some alarming
statistics.
Including, a third of Lebanon is considered to live under the poverty line and the unemployment
rate is climbing above 25%.
There is also a potential imminent food crisis and famine as food imports are reducing and
especially now that there has been such a huge explosion at the port, which served as
the country's economic lifeline.
These were just some of the crisis issues highlighted in addition to the country experiencing
the current pandemic.
That said, any bit of support or donation helps, and if you would like to do so, we’ve
linked some resources down in the description below for ways you can help victims of the
Beirut blast.
As always, we, here at Clevver News, are sending our constant love and support to all those
affected.
For more on Ariana Grande, you can click right over here to watch another Clevver video.
Then be sure to share some love and well wishes to the people and families who have been affected
by this horrific tragedy down in the comments.
I’m your host Sussan Mourad, please stay safe, everyone.