A helicopter sprays water over the port following the collapse of four more silos. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Echoing an earlier statement from Sunday following the collapse of a first section of Beirut port silos, the state-owned Electricité du Liban said Thursday that it would provide uninterrupted electricity to residents of the areas surrounding the port, to allow them to heed safety advice by running their air conditioning. A resident near the port told L’Orient Today on Friday that they received state electricity throughout the night and morning hours.
Here’s what we know:
• Yesterday, a second portion of the silos came down as hundreds of people marched to the port to mark the second anniversary of the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion.
• In its statement on Thursday, EDL said it would “once again provide uninterrupted electricity for 12 hours, until 7 a.m. the next day on Friday in the port, Medawar, Rmeil, Saifi and Karantina districts.” It would also try "as much as possible" to increase its production to supply the nearby Achrafieh district with electricity "if this does not cause a general cut" in the city’s supply. The decision was made “in coordination” with caretaker Health Minister Nasser Yassin and the residents of these areas.
• Yassin and caretaker Health Minister Firas Abiad had recommended that residents of the neighborhoods near the port close their windows and run their air conditioners should the silos, which have been ablaze for the past three weeks, collapse, in order to protect themselves against potentially harmful dust.