Thankful that your loved ones are safe.
Have been following this disaster all day. The videos are horrifying. So many people injured and killed. Glad your S and his GF were together when it happened and could support one another.
The video footage of the moment of the explosion is truly horrific.
A thousand times the explosives as the Tim McVeigh OK City bombing. I expect the death toll to exceed 9/11. Absolutely horrific.
Son is very worried about food. A large portion of the country’s grains were apparently stored at the port. He said at least he and his girlfriend had bought extra flour and rice recently, because they were concerned about a food shortage even before the explosion. He is thankful he has US dollars, because they have a lot more purchase power than Lebanese currency. People aren’t supposed to accept dollars, but they do.
Now I need to take a deep breath and get back to work! Son has been in Beirut most of the time for the past four years and I know he can take care of himself.
@MaineLonghorn Glad to hear that he is safe and has enough foodstuffs to tide him over for awhile. The footage was truly frightening. Thanks for providing news about his and his girlfriend’s wellbeing.
Adding to the others to say how glad I am they are OK. Beirut has been through so much. Hoping the food situation does not get worse.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/lebanon-eyes-state-emergency-deadly-beirut-blast-live-200804234925493.html says that “Lebanon’s main grain silo at Beirut port was destroyed in a blast, leaving the nation with less than a month’s reserves of the grain but still with enough flour to avoid a crisis, the economy minister said.”
It also says that “Officials linked the blast to some 2,750 tonnes of confiscated ammonium nitrate that were being stored in a warehouse at the port for six years.”
“Reuters now reporting that Lebanon’s government has agreed to place all Beirut port officials who have overseen storage and security since 2014 under house arrest, citing ministerial sources.”
I imagine they are trying to avert more rioting, but I’m afraid it’s too late. The people were already fed up with the corrupt government.
A local radio station is going to interview Son very early tomorrow. If they put it on their website, I will link to it.
I’m so glad he is safe! Thank you for letting us know, I thought of you right away when I heard about this horrible tragedy.
Those poor souls in Lebanon, my heart hurts for them. Sending money to some aid organization but I wish there was something else I could do.
Here is the link to his interview. He did a good job. He has my dad’s gift for speaking.
Nice job!
Nice job. Glad he and his friend are good enough to do an interview. He seems calm… Lol…
I think he and the interviewer would hit it off if they got to know each other. Cut out of the same cloth - very bright and a little snarky, ha.
Question- Maybe it just wasn’t in the footage that has been released from Beirut, but with that amount of damage after such an explosion, why were there not a lot of fires? Am glad there were not, but with gas lines and power lines and such so damaged, am surprised it didn’t spark more fires. Instead, it was eerily desolate.
Good question, I will ask him. Especially in Beirut, where electrical wires are exposed EVERYWHERE, like spaghetti, on the exterior of buildings.
Thanks. Surely the power went out pretty quickly, but even for a brief moment, when power and gas lines blew at the same time, its puzzling.
@jym626 Son said that one reason could be that stone doesn’t burn, ha. There is very little wood construction in Beirut. That’s the only thing he could think of.
Thanks. Still might have expected fuel spill/fires. Regardless, fortunate that it didn’t happen.
I managed to send a note to the owner of the B&B we stayed in. He wrote back, “Thank you for your message. The Baffa House exploded but thanks god we were not home.? Much love 
samer and family.”
Ugh. His grandfather built the house in 1950. Samer was so proud of it. It was beautiful. But I’m so thankful that his family is safe - his little boy must be 3 or 4 now.