BEIRUT BLAST

Sawa for Development and Aid Response Strategy

AUGUST 2020

SUPPORTING
INDIVIDUALS,
BUILDING
COMMUNITIES
 BEIRUT EXPLOSION - 4/08/2020

GROUND RESPONSE
STRATEGY
SAWA FOR DEVELOPMENT AND AID

The devastating explosion that took place at Beirut’s port on August 4 th

160+ hit close to home in every way. The Lebanese resilience that is so often
mentioned is being tested once again, strained against the crushing
Deaths blows it has endured just in the last year.

Caused by 2,750 tonnes of improperly stored ammonium nitrate, the blast was
5,000 reported to impact a radius of 20 kilometers around the port area. For those
heavily populated urban areas located in its direct vicinity, where some of our own
Wounded team members call home, the results are catastrophic. Houses have been turned
to rubble, hospitals have been struck, over 5,000 lives have been counted as
wounded so far, deaths are amounting to 160, and at least 110 are still considered
110 missing in the wreckage.
Source: UNOCHA Situation Report No.3 (10/08) and 11/08 Update

Missing

SAWA FOR DEVELOPMENT AND AID

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BEIRUT EXPLOSION - 4/08/2020

Lebanon and its citizens were already barely

scraping by with the hyperinflation, currency
crisis, failing economic condition, fuel and
electricity shortages, as well as an ongoing global
pandemic. Beirut’s port was an essential point in
the country’s economy, as it is heavily reliant on
imports, and is now completely in ruins. This will
impact reconstruction proceedings, as the heavy
loads of material needed will have to go through
smaller, inadequate supply chains. Food security is
now also highly threatened, as the grain reserves
were stored in silos located directly next to the
explosion site.

The explosion came at a time where hospitals and

medical facilities were on the brink of being
overwhelmed by patients affected by Covid-19,
which witnessed a spike in cases just over the last
few weeks. Most ICUs were already reaching
maximum capacity and the financial crisis was 300,000
dangerously threatening the stock of available
medical supplies. Following the blast, the Ministry People Directly Affected
of Public Health announced that at least 3 major
hospitals in the city were out of service as a result
of the damage and destruction they sustained,
with evacuations needing to take place.
80,000
Beirut sustained major structural damage with
numerous residences and buildings destroyed,
leaving more than 300,000 individuals homeless
Children Displaced
in the Greater Beirut area as per the Government
of Lebanon’s estimations.

In addition to shattered glass, torn aluminium and

concrete rubble filling the streets, entire buildings
have been condemned.

In an already vulnerable country, where around

50% of the population is living below the
poverty line, most of the support needed on
the ground is expected to come from
humanitarian organizations and CSOs. The
human and material losses in Beirut are of a
large scale and overwhelming, with hundreds
of thousands of people in need of support in
terms of shelter, food, non-food items (NFI),
WASH, medical support, and protection.

SAWA FOR DEVELOPMENT AND AID

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 BEIRUT EXPLOSION - 4/08/2020

SCALE OF DAMAGE

SOURCE BEIRUT EXPLOSION RADIUS DISTANCES, POP. DENSITY, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTERS - LEBANON

HEAVILY AFFECTED AREAS

BOURJ
MAR MIKHAIL KARANTINA GEMMAYZE GEITAWI ASHRAFIEH
HAMMOUD

DISTANCE 
FROM 
1 KM 2 KM 2 KM 2.5 KM 2.6 KM 3 KM
THE
EXPLOSION

NUMBER
OF
INDIVIDUALS 2,276 4,673 1,668 8,505 13,551 116,509
AFFECTED

SAWA FOR DEVELOPMENT AND AID

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BEIRUT EXPLOSION - 4/08/2020

From its very inception, SAWA for

Development and Aid has been dedicating its
SAWA’s efforts to support those most vulnerable within
the local communities in Lebanon, regardless
Response of nationality, ethnicity, or religion, which is

Strategy: why our team has been present on the ground

since day one. Through all of our interventions,
our teams abide by SAWA’s core values.

DIGNITY • OWNERSHIP • SELF-DETERMINATION •

RESPONSIBILITY • INTEGRITY

SAWA FOR DEVELOPMENT AND AID

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BEIRUT EXPLOSION - 4/08/2020

Shelter
Serious damages were detected in numerous
buildings and residences, where households
are deemed uninhabitable due to the
destruction of windows, doors, walls, and
furniture. Numerous buildings are prone to
collapse since the majority of in the area are
over 60 years old.

Our team is supporting families in removing

the destruction and rubble, salvage what
remains of their belongings, and do simple
repairs where possible. Many families are in
need of urgent evacuation or relocation
while damages are repaired, but many will
not be able to afford the reconstruction of
their homes.

Food Security
Since local businesses were destroyed along
with residences, affected households no
longer have access to proper kitchen
facilities or the local market to purchase
food items and necessities. Furthermore,
many of the families can no longer afford
securing food items to their families. These
are especially needed for families who
consist of young children and elderly
members.

We are supporting affected households and

families in the area surrounding the
explosion with food parcels that can be used
to prepare meals and with hot meals
prepared on a daily basis for other
households. The parcels are procured locally
and consist of rice, pasta, oil, legumes,
canned goods and other staple items.
They are distributed to the households by
our field team, who also continuously
monitor emerging cases through needs
assessments. Hot meals are prepared daily in
collaboration with local kitchens and
restaurants in the area.

SAWA FOR DEVELOPMENT AND AID

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BEIRUT EXPLOSION - 4/08/2020

NFIs and WASH

Families in the affected areas have lost their
belongings, their homes, their businesses, and
their livelihoods. Our team is supporting them in
securing items such as clothing, furniture items,
etc. through donation campaigns.

We are also providing family hygiene kits for

affected households containing cleaning and
hygiene products, as well as PPEs (masks,
sanitizers) that would protect them in light
of the Covid-19 pandemic, which remains a
concern with volunteers and rescue workers
swarming the area. The number of reported
cases are now steadily rising.

Medical support
As part of our response, we are planning to
provide medications and supplies for the
elderly and vulnerable groups who suffer
from chronic diseases and illnesses, as well
for patients who need follow-up treatments
for their injuries sustained from the
explosion.

Protection
Our protection team, adept and well experienced in psycho-social first aid and supporting trauma-
affected communities, is providing support and counselling to affected individuals and families on the
ground or through remote sessions.

These interventions have the purpose of not only addressing the acute trauma incurred from
experiencing the explosion itself and ensuing losses and grief, but will also aid in stitching back
together the community’s social fabric and to mitigate any tensions threatening individual
wellbeing or social cohesion.

Special focus is given for vulnerable groups such as children, women who are heads of
households, elderly, and persons with disabilities or who are chronically ill.

SAWA FOR DEVELOPMENT AND AID

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BEIRUT EXPLOSION - 4/08/2020
On-the-ground
coordination:
Efforts on the ground from local
organizations and volunteer teams
are immense and heartening. Our
team is coordinating with a variety of
local groups and actors to facilitate
referrals for services that we are not
able to provide and to accept
referrals from other humanitarian
actors. This is widening our scope of
intervention, as each is well-
established in certain localities and
can ensure services are reaching the
most vulnerable groups, as well as
ensuring that efforts and resources
reach as many individuals as possible
without duplication or redundancy.

We are also facilitating efforts for

volunteering groups from outside Beirut by
providing transportation and logistical
support to those coming into the capital
from other governorates who wish to join
the rehabilitation efforts, assist those most
vulnerable, and show solidarity.

We are calling upon our friends and

families, in Lebanon and abroad, to
help us in providing aid to our
communities. The system may have
crumbled and failed, but through
human initiatives and Civil Society
Organizations, we can pick up the
pieces.

Donate to Sawa for

Development and Aid
You can assist us by contributing to SAWA’s Beirut Blast
Emergency Relief campaign, which will go towards
supporting all of the response activities and life-saving
services mentioned above.

DONATE THROUGH FOLLOWING LINK:

HTTP://LAUNCHGOOD.COM/SAWABEIRUTBLASTRELIEF

SAWA FOR DEVELOPMENT AND AID

/SAWAFORDAID HTTP://LAUNCHGOOD.COM +961 70 888 407
/SAWAFORDAID
/SAWABEIRUTBLASTRELIEF