The EDL headquarters in Beirut. (Credit: L'Orient Today/João Sousa)
BEIRUT — The state-owned Electricité Du Liban said on Sunday evening it would provide electricity to the areas surrounding the Beirut port until Monday morning. This measure came following the collapse of four of 16 grain silos located at the port on Sunday.
Here’s what we know:
• In a statement on Sunday, EDL said that it would “exceptionally provide electricity constantly for 12 hours until tomorrow morning for all the areas located near the incident.” According to a resident in the area, electricity did appear to arrive during the timeline stated.
• The statement also said that EDL aims to “set an exceptional program for electricity supply for these areas during the upcoming two days after coordinating with the authorities concerned in accordance with the silos and the developments that could occur.” EDL also called on the residents of these areas to follow the safety instructions announced last week by the health and environment ministries in case of the silos’ collapse, which include turning on air conditioning to purify the air.
• Four out of 16 silos in the northern block of the Beirut port collapsed Sunday evening, French engineer Emmanuel Durand, who volunteered for a government-commissioned team of experts and who has been using sensors to monitor shifts in the structure, told L’Orient Today. He also warned that the remaining silos in the block continue to tilt at a rate requiring “minute to minute” monitoring. Durand reassured, however, that for now the “south block is stable.”