Building in Tripoli subjected to evacuation order on Aug. 10, 2026, after cracks appear. (Credit: Photo sent by Michel Hallak)
NORTH LEBANON — Tripoli’s municipal police on Monday ordered residents of two buildings in the Abi Samra area to evacuate immediately after structural cracks were found, citing safety concerns, according to our correspondent.
It remains unclear whether alternative housing will be provided for the affected families, some of whom say they have nowhere else to go. It is also unclear whether there are plans to reinforce or rehabilitate the two buildings, and how long such work would take.
The evacuations come amid repeated warnings about the risk of building collapses in Tripoli, where several buildings have been deemed unsafe.
On Feb. 8, a building collapsed in Tripoli’s Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood, killing 13 people, including a three-year-old child, and injuring eight. The collapse came just over a week after another building collapsed in the city, killing a father and his daughter.
Multiple evacuations were carried out in Tripoli over the winter as authorities warned of the growing risk of building collapses. Following the incidents, Cabinet ordered the evacuation of 114 at-risk buildings and said it would cover housing costs for affected residents. Some residents remain in shelters or with relatives, while others have refused to leave.
In June, an old building in Tripoli partially collapsed, injuring an excavator operator as he removed debris from the site of a previously collapsed building.
Tripoli is Lebanon’s poorest city, and its infrastructure has deteriorated sharply after years of chronic underfunding.
Reporting contributed by our regional correspondent Michel Hallak.
