AS evening settled in, clouds drifted over the city of Beirut on Aug 4. Unknown to its citizens, at that exact moment firefighters were rushing to Warehouse 12 at the Port of Beirut. A raging fire had broken out and several in the fire crew noted that there was “something wrong” with the fire and that it produced a “crazy sound”.
Then came the first explosion, sending up a cloud of smoke followed by flashes of sound and light from the stored fireworks. Tarek and Emma, residents in the surrounding area, stated that “earthquakes were common” and subsequently not many noticed the first blast and how it shook the ground. Less than a minute after that came the more substantial explosion – the blast that changed the lives of thousands. Emma recounts that within seconds the sky was tainted a bright orange. A condensation cloud surrounded the port followed by a thundering boom. The resultant earthquake was speculated to be the result of one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions in history.
