Lebanese Calgarians check on friends and family after deadly Beirut blast

Lebanese Calgarians have been glued to screens and TVs watching the aftermath of a massive explosion that destroyed a huge part of Lebanon's capitalBeirut on Tuesday.

Theblast happened inBeirut's port area, killing at least 80peopleand injuring nearly 4,000 othersas it sent powerfulshockwaves through the city.

Videos of the explosion, which followed a large fire that people were already filming from a distance, showed a mushroom cloud and a cloud of dust from theblast.

Lebanon's interior minister said on Tuesday that the explosionwas likely caused by thousands of tonnesofhighly explosive chemicals, including ammonium nitrate, which wereseizedyearsago and were in long-term storage at a warehouse in the port district.

Officials expected the death toll to rise as emergency workers dig through rubble to rescue people and remove bodies.

Massive explosion hits Beirut, dozens killed

4 years ago

Duration 7:41

A massive explosion near the centre of Beirut has killed dozens in the Lebanese capital. Journalist Rebecca Collard, who is about two kilometres from the blast site, shares details on the ongoing rescue efforts.

Watching from thousands of kilometres away in Calgary, thosewith connections to the city spent the day checking in with friends and family members, making and receiving phone callsand watching news coverage.

"My company has an office in Beirut and it was devastating to see," said Calgary-basedentrepreneur AfifTabish, who travels frequently between Canada and Lebanon, and is from the capital city.

He says he'sbeen following the events in Lebanonminute by minute.

"Most of the damage at my office was broken glass. It's in a commercial building with thicker glass but my uncle's house in Beirut,it was devastated, every window was blasted," Tabish said.

"I got the first video sent to me by a close friend of mine who lives maybe 100 metres away from the blast site and his house really got damaged. He got cuts and bruises fromthe second explosion," he said.

Tabishsays many LebaneseCalgariansoriginate from rural, mountainousareas of the country rather than the capital but many have friends and connections there.

"The country is really suffering and we as Lebanese expats living in Calgary have relationships, family and business between the two countries," said Tabish.

"It's the talk of a lot of Lebanese here," he said."I don't know how we're going to recover from this?"

"Is insurance going to cover this?Obviously Lebanon is broke, what's the next step?" Tabish said.

The explosionscomeat a bad time for Lebanon. The country is in the midst of aneconomic and financial crisis with anindebted government facing increasing inflation, soaring unemployment and poverty, all made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.

It could also meana new humanitarian crisis in a nation that hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

The Canadian Red Cross is one of several agenciesraising money to help in the aftermath of the disaster.

A long list of countries includingCanada, the United States, Britain and France are also working to provide aid.