An emergency meeting was held at the Grand Serail to respond to the crisis currently facing Tripoli, on Feb. 9, 2025. (Credit: X account of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.)
The government of Nawaf Salam decided Monday, following an emergency meeting convened in response to a series of building collapses in Tripoli — the capital of North Lebanon and the country’s second largest city — to order the evacuation of 114 at-risk buildings within a month, covering the housing costs for affected residents.
This measure, the first in a list announced by the Grand Serail, was taken after 14 people died in the collapse of a residential building in the Bab al-Tebbaneh neighborhood on Sunday, according to the final Civil Defense toll established after a long night of searches with the help of the Red Cross, the High Relief Committee, and many volunteers. Eight others were injured.
This tragedy, the second of its kind in two weeks, sparked a wave of anger and protests in the city from Sunday night into Monday and drew extensive commentary from current officials, lawmakers, and religious leaders.
The mayor of Tripoli, Abdel Hamid Karimeh, announced Sunday evening that he was submitting his resignation to Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar, considering the city to be “disaster-stricken” and stating that the municipality lacks the means to address the very high number of cracked buildings — over 100 according to a 2024 municipal survey, the most recent to date.
List of temporary shelter centers
Families have begun burying their loved ones, as the head of government — also under pressure from near-daily Israeli army attacks in south Lebanon — met with cabinet members and other concerned officials at the Grand Serail to respond to the emergency. Abdel Hamid Karimeh took part in this meeting.
In addition to the decision to evacuate the 114 at-risk buildings within a month, which will require the endorsement of the Tripoli municipality, Nawaf Salam announced that a list of temporary shelter centers has been drawn up by the disaster management committee in North Lebanon, with the option to create additional centers if needed.
The Ministry of Social Affairs, represented by Minister Haneen Sayed, will provide assistance and register evacuated families in the Aman program, funded by the World Bank, which already provides financial aid to thousands of families in Lebanon.
The Ministry of Public Health will cover the medical needs of affected families — a measure already announced earlier in the day, notably by Minister Rakan Nasreddine.
The High Relief Commission will begin reinforcing buildings that can be saved and demolishing those that pose an imminent risk of collapse. It will also continue surveying at-risk buildings in coordination with the Order of Engineers, while the Council for Development and Reconstruction will assess the condition of infrastructure, including water and sanitation networks, according to the official statement.
