Beirut blast: Photos show destruction in Lebanon’s Mar Mikhael, Gemmayze

Images have surfaced showing the widespread destruction caused by the massive blast in Beirut’s port to the neighborhoods of Mar Mikhael and Gemmayze, home to many of the city’s restaurants and bars popular with both tourists and residents.

The blast at warehouses storing the highly explosive ammonium nitrate in Beirut’s port killed at least 100 people and injured more than 4,000, shattering buildings across the city in damage estimated to be up to $3-5 billion dollars.

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Videos and images showed collapsed buildings and debris-strung streets in Downtown Beirut, which has been renovated and rebuilt since the 1990s after the Lebanese Civil War, and the adjacent neighborhood of Gemmayze, known for its cobbled street and relaxed café scene.

One image showed a car crushed by rubble in Gemmayze. The vehicle was reportedly a video production car.

Another photograph showed a popular local bakery, or fern, known for selling manoushe – a cooked dough topped with zaatar, cheese, or meat. The shop’s façade has been blown off as a woman stands outside.

One twitter user posted a comparison of Gemmayze before and after the blast.

Nadim El Kak, a researcher at the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies (LCPS), captured a man in a colorful house with the front wall blown off.

Another photo showed a high-rise building with its front completely shattered.

According to reports, the blast was felt as far away as Cyprus, around 150 miles away from Beirut. The city’s governor estimated on Wednesday that between 250,000 and 300,000 are now homeless.

Many people are still missing from the blast, which observers fear could push the already struggling Lebanese economy into meltdown.

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Beirut blast: Lebanese banks to give 0 pct loans to damaged businesses, homes: Report