Hey guys, it’s Sussan Mourad with Clevver
News, and after a massive explosion in the
Lebanese capital of Beirut resulted in many
casualties and severe destruction, celebrities
including Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian
are sending their love and support to the
people affected.
Millions of people around the world are coming
together in support of the people of Lebanon,
as tragedy struck on Tuesday in the capital
city of Beirut, when a massive explosion killed
over 100 people and left thousands injured.
Lebanon immediately went into a state of emergency
following the explosion that could be heard
over hundreds of miles away, according to
many reports.
As of Wednesday afternoon, local news organization
LBCI reported that at least 5,000 people were
injured, 135 were killed, and hundreds were
still missing.
At this time, the cause of the explosion is
unclear, however, Lebanon’s president Michael
Aoun, has revealed that there will be an ongoing
investigation into the blast as soon as possible,
and that the results would be publicly shared.
Although some have claimed the incident to
be intentional, news outlets, including The
New York Times and the BBC, have reported
that “highly explosive materials” described
as “thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate”
were seized by the government over six years
ago and were stored unsafely in a warehouse
where the blast occurred.
It has also been reported that one of the
explosions was caused by a fire at a warehouse
at Beirut’s port.
CNN also reported that Prime Minister Hassan
Diab revealed that “an estimated 2,750 tons
of ammonium nitrate had been stored in a port
warehouse for six years without preventative
measures.”
As soon as news broke, millions of people
took to social media to share their love and
support, as well as many celebrities.
Ariana Grande took to Instagram and Twitter
to share some donation links, along with a
message saying, “my heart, strength and
condolences are with Lebanon and everyone
affected by this tragedy.
please support / donate if you’re able to,
i will be doing so too.”
Kim Kardashian also tweeted, “Pray For Beirut,”
in addition to sharing a swipe up link to
her instagram stories for ways to help with
the caption QUOTE “Pray For Beirut.
A massive explosion ripped through central
Beirut on Tuesday, killing 50+ people, injuring
thousands and blowing out windows in buildings
across the city.”
Kylie Jenner also shared a link to Lebanon
disaster relief via Instagram stories.
Halsey asked her followers to share as much
info as they can regarding ways to help out,
saying, QUOTE “my heart is aching looking
at these photos in Beirut.
I have read from a lot of people that petitions
aren’t effective and donations can result
in a dramatic exchange decrease.
Can someone share with me direct information
about how we can help most effectively and
immediately?”
DJ Khaled also shared an Instagram post that
read, “Pray for Beirut, Lebanon.”
Bebe Rexha, Nina Dobrev, Heidi Klum, Kate
Hudson and many others shared Instagram stories
dedicated to the devastating news, as they
continue to pray for the people affected.
And celebrities like Dua Lipa, Demi Lovato
and Bella Hadid took this opportunity to educate
their fans on the many other crises occurring
simultaneously in Lebanon, including the ongoing
social, health, political and economical crises
- which have now been exacerbated by Covid
19.
Dua’s post also listed many at-home remedies
in the event any of her followers were exposed
to ammonium nitrate that day, as well as resources
to donate.
Dua’s post also shed light on the impact
of the explosion on the port, not just due
to its surrounding destruction, but a problem
that goes far beyond the city’s infrastructure.
The post read, “Food was imported at the
port.
The grain silos where wheat was stored have
been destroyed.
People can’t afford home repairs.
In a country that was already suffering, things
were looking very grim.”
Bella revealed in her post that she will be
donating to the Lebanese Red Cross, saying
QUOTE, “300,000 people have been displaced
and have become homeless.
This explosion is coming during one of the
hardest times for Lebanon in history... with
an unprecedented economic crisis and famine,
political unrest, homelessness, the pandemic
and the unemployment rate plummeting, we NEED
to support the people of Lebanon.”
While the country is already struggling with
the effects of COVID-19 and a shortage of
medical supplies, this tragedy puts Lebanon
in even more of a bind, as healthcare is extremely
underfunded and hospitals were already overcrowded
due to the pandemic.
A post re-shared by Demi Lovato from instagram
account @theslacktivists detailed some alarming
statistics.
Including, a third of Lebanon is considered
to live under the poverty line and the unemployment
rate is climbing above 25%.
There is also a potential imminent food crisis
and famine as food imports are reducing and
especially now that there has been such a
huge explosion at the port, which served as
the country's economic lifeline.
These were just some of the crisis issues
highlighted in addition to the country experiencing
the current pandemic.
That said, any bit of support or donation
helps, and if you would like to do so, we’ve
linked some resources down in the description
below for ways you can help victims of the
Beirut blast.
As always, we, here at Clevver News, are sending
our constant love and support to all those
affected.
For more on Ariana Grande, you can click right
over here to watch another Clevver video.
Then be sure to share some love and well wishes
to the people and families who have been affected
by this horrific tragedy down in the comments.
I’m your host Sussan Mourad, please stay
safe, everyone.
