Yesterday's storms demolished a building in Medawar, near the port. (Marc Fayad)
Heavy rainstorms and high winds battered Lebanon yesterday, flooding streets and snarling traffic in Beirut and around the country. Security forces warned Beirut residents to steer clear of buildings damaged in the port explosion that might be in danger of collapse, and with good reason: an empty two-story building in the Medawar area caved in, but no one was injured. Refugee camps in Akkar and the Bekaa were inundated. Beirut Gov. Marwan Abboud called on municipal emergency service agencies to go to a state of alert in case of continuing storms. For emergency services in Beirut, call 175 to reach the Beirut fire brigade.
Another casualty of the storms: thousands of tons of flour donated to Lebanon by Iraq that were stored in the Sports City stadium. The shipment of some 10,000 tons of flour had arrived at the Beirut port from Iraq on Oct. 12. Municipal police in Ghobeiri said the flour, “poorly” stored under the stands and in basement halls, may have been ruined by moisture that got in during the rains. They posted videos of the sacks of flour stacked in a dank basement with water pooled on the floor to prove the point. The stadium’s manager said that the flour was being stored there for 15 days at the request of caretaker Economy Minister Raoul Nehme until it would be distributed, and that “we have no relationship to this matter.” Nehme tweeted a video late Wednesday night claiming that only a small amount of flour was damaged during unloading and that the rest was safely stored.
Wednesday marked the three-month anniversary of the Beirut port explosion. Families of the explosion victims took to the streets and to social media to vent their anger at the lack of accountability for those responsible to date. Meanwhile, several dozen protesters braved the rain to march on the home of Judge Fadi Sawwan, who is tasked with investigating the blast, to demand that the investigation results be released and those responsible brought to justice. Officials have publicly proclaimed their desire for justice, yet the state has charged no one and fired no one.
Lebanon is still awaiting action from the Higher Defense Council on growing calls for a two-week lockdown of the country to stem the steadily increasing number of coronavirus cases. The council is expected to meet within the next couple of days to make a decision. Firass Abiad, the head of Lebanon’s largest public hospital, warned this morning that the lockdown debate “will soon be overtaken by events.” Yesterday once again saw high case numbers, with 1,888 new cases reported, raising the number of active cases to 41,389, while nine people died, bringing the death toll to 676.
Several parliamentary committees are set to meet today. At 11, the Public Works, Transportation, Energy and Water Committee will discuss the state’s contract with Électricité de Zahlé, a private company that has famously managed to provide 24/7 electricity in Zahle and the surrounding area while the rest of the country struggles with regular cuts. Three local MPs have submitted a draft law to extend EDZ’s operational contract with Électricité du Liban until 2022. Also at 11, the Economy, Trade, Industry and Planning Committee meets to “discuss its work methodology and economic vision and review the proposals and projects referred to it,” according to the NNA. And at 11:30, the Human Rights Committee will discuss the situation in the country's prisons.
