Lebanon's caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi at the presidential palace in Baabda, in Nov. 2021. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
Lebanon's caretaker Interior Minister, Bassam Mawlawi, called on Wednesday for municipalities to "carry out a survey of damaged buildings and landslides," following Monday's deadly earthquake in Turkey.
The quake also shook Lebanon but didn't cause any casualties or injuries.
In an urgent circular dispatched to the regional mohafez, Mawlawi tasked them to ask municipalities to "identify leaking and substandard buildings, and landslides on public roads."
He announced that he would "resort to the Order of Engineers of Beirut and Tripoli (North Lebanon) so that the owners of damaged buildings or the municipalities concerned restore or strengthen" the roads and buildings that need it.
The minister also asked the municipalities to submit a detailed report to the High Relief Committee on damaged buildings that have not been repaired and on landslides that have not been cleared, as well as an estimated cost for maintenance.
On Monday, Mawlawi declared a "state of municipal emergency" and instructed the municipal police in each affected locality to ensure that the solar panels installed on the roofs are still secure despite the storm.
A man was injured Wednesday after the balcony of his home collapsed in Tripoli. It was unclear if the collapse was caused by the quake or the severe winter storm that has swept the country for more than a week.