Port Explosion Research Articles

An industrial disaster emergency decision-making based on China’s Tianjin city port explosion under complex probabilistic hesitant fuzzy soft environment

Emergency decision-making is vital for nations or communities because it increases emergency management’s effectiveness and legitimacy, which in turn greatly minimizes environmental damage, fatalities, and economic loss. The evaluation of emergency judgements must take into account significant inaccuracy, fuzzyness, and ambiguity. While high risk and uncertainty are frequently characteristics of emergency decision-making (EDM) circumstances. The current EDM methodologies do not take into account the psychological behavior of the decision makers in addition to the various emergency situations and the various responses. In this paper, we presented a new method based on a Complex Probabilistic Hesitant Fuzzy Soft Set (CPHFSS) as represented by membership in 2-D with hesitant probability. The idea that is being put forth captures the ambiguity and takes into account emergency situations while also taking into account the psychological state of the decision-makers involved in the EDM procedure. The introduction of a new score function for the CPHFSS serves as the second objective of this paper, which is to address a number of comparability issues. We examine a novel family of hybrid operators for CPHFSS that utilize numerous independent variables as a solution to these unforeseen issues. The group decision-making strategy and EDAS technique are then suggested employing these operators. Later, an emergency decision-making situation involving a major fire in China is used to demonstrate the validity of the algorithms.

Risk perception and travel behavior under short-lead evacuation: Post disaster analysis of 2020 Beirut Port Explosion

Human-made disasters continue to be the most dangerous of all types of disasters due to their suddenness and unpredictability. This calls for a thorough examination of people’s evacuation behavior due to its impact on the evacuation procedure and its significance for evacuation planning. This study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the decision-making process of residents in case a human-made disaster occurs with an application to Beirut, Lebanon. This study is essential for pre-disaster planning, which mitigates potential damage from such disasters. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), the current study uses the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) framework to explain intention toward evacuation behavior before a human-made disaster in three situations: being at home with all family members, having absent family members, and being at work or university when the event occurs. The findings of this study show that the PADM framework is relevant to explaining evacuation behavior intentions prior to a human-made disaster incident. Results indicate that knowledge perception does not trigger the intended behavior of evacuating immediately in the studied situations. Besides, the results indicate low confidence in the government’s emergency plans and the unreliability of the official government warnings about human-made hazards. Overall, the findings of this study may contribute to a better understanding of evacuation behavior from disasters with less lead warning time. Besides, they may aid the Disaster Risk Management unit of Lebanon in developing emergency evacuation strategies that: understand the public’s evacuation behavior; customize city-specific evacuation logistics; optimize the dissemination of evacuation information.

Disaster waste management challenges and enabling factors for strategic planning: The case of the Beirut Port explosion.

Disasters occur in both developed and developing countries, generating large amounts of disaster waste including construction and demolition (C&D) waste that needs to be appropriately managed. While developed countries are capable of implementing adequate disaster waste management (DWM) strategies to facilitate their recovery processes, developing countries generally struggle to find the resources and expertise needed to develop such strategies. Lebanon is a developing country vexed by several systemic challenges that hindered its abilities to manage disaster waste. In this paper, we focus on the Beirut Port explosion (4 August 2020), which generated more than 800,000 tonnes of disaster wastes. This study first assesses the executed strategies and identifies their enabling factors and implementation challenges. It then proposes a framework for the proper management of disaster waste, which was validated through 18 in-depth interviews with experts and stakeholders involved in disaster management. Interview notes and transcripts were analyzed using an inductive-deductive process that allowed to identify themes using the constant comparative method. The data revealed that the main barriers toward implementing a successful DWM strategy were the absence of appropriate technologies, infrastructure, expertise, legislative framework and financial resources. The study concludes by proposing a DWM roadmap that includes contingency, risk reduction and implementation plans (IPs) that can enhance decision-making and ease the recovery process.

Sickness of Separation: Reflections on Expatriation, Repatriation, and Motherhood

ABSTRACT In this lived narrative, I revisit my youngest son’s dramatic departure from Lebanon to the US, hours before the Beirut Port explosion on 4 August 2020. Against the backdrop of the calamitous year that follows, the essential processing of the emotional ills of mother–child separation—aggravated by the trauma of the port disaster and a progressive implosion of society—is resurrected as Lebanon recognises the one-year anniversary of the catastrophe. This experience binds to those of countless Lebanese families, past and present, braving the departure of a child who both seeks and embodies a hoped-for brighter future. Even as my story dwells in universal themes, it unravels within a unique personal context. I am myself an immigrant, having moved nine years ago with my three sons from Boston to Byblos to fulfil the dying wish of my late husband, who escaped Lebanon during its civil war to settle in America: that we live out our lives with his extended family in Lebanon. In the shadow of his father’s remembrance, my son’s expatriation forces the reckoning with my unresolved grief and uncertainty, even as I acknowledge, too, fleeting fragments of beauty—redemptory gifts revealed through the ageless rituals of everyday life.

Factors associated with posttraumatic growth: gratitude, PTSD and distress; one year into the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon.

Almost one year since the COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, mental distress remains elevated with high prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Yet studies suggest these challenging circumstances might be conducive of post-traumatic growth (PTG). This study aims to investigate the factors associated with growth after the original trauma. A sample of 252 Lebanese adults filled an online survey to determine levels of PTG, PTSD and gratitude using validated self-rating scales. Participants also subjectively evaluated the sources of their distress such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut port explosion and/or their deteriorating financials. The PTGi-SF evaluated dimensions of growth while the IES-R_22 measured the degree of distress post-trauma. The GQ-6 was used to measure the proneness to experience gratitude daily. Results indicated 41% of participants scored above the cutoff for PTSD symptomatology. Yet, PTSD was positively correlated, alongside gratitude and accumulated subjective distress, with higher levels of PTG. A forward linear regression taking PTG scores as the dependent variable further showed that more gratitude (Beta = 0.57), a higher impact of events (Beta = 0.16), and knowing anyone who died from COVID-19 (Beta = 3.93) were significantly associated with more growth. The study highlights elevated levels of PTSD symptoms in a context of a global pandemic worsened by financial and socio-political instabilities. It mostly identifies personal factors, including high initial symptomatology post-trauma and gratitude, related to the capacity for growth in spite of these accumulating hardships. As such, it advocates the need to investigate and bolster silver linings amidst unprecedented traumas.

Burnout among postgraduate medical trainees in Lebanon: Potential strategies to promote wellbeing.

Burnout is a widespread issue in healthcare for many years. Lebanon combatted political and economic crises before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, in addition to the port explosion in August 2020. The study aimed to identify the determinants of personal burnout, patient-related burnout, and work-related burnout among postgraduate medical trainees (PGMT) and evaluate its relationship with sociodemographic characteristics. A cross-sectional study utilized the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) involving electronic, voluntary, and anonymous survey. The survey was completed by 188 PGMT including residents and fellows from all specialties and all levels of training. The prevalence rates are 68.6% for personal burnout, 63.3% for work-related burnout, and 35.1% for patient-related burnout. Results improve our understanding of the phenomenon of burnout, and the role of program leadership in shaping the impact of burnout on training and promoting wellbeing of PGMT. Discussion focuses on providing potential wellbeing strategies for program directors to follow for mitigating burnout.

A grounded theory approach to exploring the experiences of community pharmacists in Lebanon to a triple whammy of crises: The Lebanese financial crisis, COVID-19 pandemic, and the Beirut port explosion

BackgroundCommunity pharmacists like other health care professionals in Lebanon have been grappling with a series of multifaceted, country-wide and ongoing challenges that have formed the impetus for this research. We aimed to explore experiences of community pharmacists in Beirut, Lebanon, during three concurrent crises in 2020: the Lebanese financial crisis, COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut Port explosion. MethodsA qualitative approach using a constructivist grounded theory methodology was employed. Between October 2020 and February 2021, semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposefully recruited community pharmacists working in Beirut. All interviews were conducted virtually, and data collected were analysed using inductive reasoning, with open coding and concept development. ResultsThirty-five participants (63% female, mean age 30) were interviewed online. Emergent categories and theoretical concepts included 1. painting the picture - pharmacists describing the context/setting; 2. impact of the crises - on community pharmacists, the profession, patients and the system; 3. response to the crises - of community pharmacists, the profession (+ practice), patients and the system; and 4. need for advocacy and leadership. A theory was developed about “unsustainable resilience” in the scheme of ongoing crises. ConclusionsThe findings revealed a shared sense of futility and despair among pharmacists collectively as a profession, as well as a sense of unsustainable healthcare systems in Lebanon, and environments impacting on the resilience of pharmacists at an individual level. A call for action is needed for urgent sustainable structural and financial reforms, advocacy and planning for future resilient systems, as well as a resilient pharmacy profession and protection of pharmacists' wellbeing and livelihood.

Garbage, corruption, and political protest in Lebanese literature and film

ABSTRACT This article explores the representation of garbage in Lebanese literature and film, focusing on the children’s book, Picture Perfect (2021), by Najla El Khatib (b. 1987) and two films by director Mounia Akl (b. 1989): Submarine (al-Ghawwāṣa, 2016) and Costa Brava, Lebanon (Kūstā brāfā, 2021). Each reframes socio-political crisis, including the 2015 garbage crisis, the 2020 Beirut port explosion, and mass migration as ecological disaster. Rather than war, conflict, or sectarian belonging, the texts assert that it is ecological degradation that is a threat to Lebanon. Drawing on environmentalism, eco-materialism, and waste studies, I analyze how waste in the texts flouts the trope of mountain romanticism that makes up the myth of Lebanese identity, putting into question the safety and sanctity of the home and thereby of the nation. I thus argue that, by foregrounding garbage and environmental degradation, they contest dominant discourses on Lebanese identity.

Funding schemes and support towards gender-based violence prevention and sexual and reproductive health in Lebanon: a critical analysis of their impacts on human rights defenders

ABSTRACT Since 2019, Lebanon has undergone multiple economic, political, and social crises that have exacerbated the heavy burdens on its population, including poverty, unemployment, and economic precarity. The ramifications of these recent shocks for gender-based violence (GBV) and access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services are particularly stark, which has drawn the attention and concern of funders and international actors around the world. As flows of funds from foreign countries become increasingly crucial for the legitimacy and position of the ruling class and rehabilitation of the economy, and as international aid is increasingly scrutinised due to concerns about corruption and transparency post-Beirut port explosion, it becomes more important to critically analyse these financial flows and their impact on women human rights defenders’ activities. This article seeks to critically evaluate the financial flows since 2012 going towards issues of GBV and SRH, considering the different actors, initiatives, and populations for which they are earmarked. Further, it examines how these funding strategies affect women activists. The article presents a review of the context of GBV and SRH, and access to protection and SRH services in Lebanon. Subsequently, it presents an analysis of how aid is directed to issues of GBV and sexual and reproductive rights, and its impact on feminist activism using data from desk-based research and interviews with decision-makers, co-ordinators, officers, and activists from international, regional, and local organisations. Finally, it offers a set of conclusions and observations on funders and actors responsible for aid planning.

And when it all blows up? Corruption Victimization, Blast Physics, and the Electoral Effects of the 2020 Beirut Port Explosion

And when it all blows up? Corruption Victimization, Blast Physics, and the Electoral Effects of the 2020 Beirut Port Explosion

The Ophthalmology Workload during the Lebanese Crisis and Pandemic.

The purpose is to to explore the effects of the Lebanese economic crisis on the ophthalmology workload in Lebanon, and the concomitant influence of the COVID-19-related lockdown and Beirut port explosion. Data pertaining to all the clinic visits to the Ophthalmology Department at the American University of Beirut Medical Center between January 01, 2019, and December 31, 2021, were extracted. Completed visits to different subspecialties were used to analyze the different parameters. All parameters were compared across the 3 years. We included 102,810 completed visits in this study. A total decrease of 15.3% occurred in visits between 2019 and 2020. The mean number of patients per month decreased significantly between 2019 and 2020 in retina/uveitis and glaucoma/anterior segment clinics. The same trend was observed in pediatric/neuro-ophthalmology and cornea/refractive surgery, although it did not reach statistical significance. For oculoplastics, the workload actually tended to increase from 2019 to 2021. During the pandemic-related lockdown (March, April, and May 2020), the workload decreased by 37.8% in oculoplastics, 63.4% in pediatric/neuro-ophthalmology, 52.8% in retina/uveitis, 60.2% in cornea/refractive surgery, and 50.7% in glaucoma/anterior segment. After the Beirut port explosion in August 2020, an overall decrease of 30.2% was found in the number of patient visits in all sub-specialties, while the number of patients in oculoplastics remained nearly unchanged. The ophthalmology workload was strongly affected by the economic crisis in all subspecialties especially with the pandemic in 2020, except for oculoplastics. During the pandemic, the most affected subspecialty was the pediatric/neuroophthalmology, while oculoplastics was the least affected.

Any Long-term Effect of the Beirut Port Explosion on the Airborne Particulate Matter?

The Beirut port explosion in 2020 released a huge amount of chemicals including ammonium nitrate, however, the long-term effects of the explosion on air quality and public health remain unclear. In this study, particulate matter (PM10) samples were collected in Beirut, Lebanon 1 month and 3 months after the explosion. The average concentrations of main anions measured in 2020 (one and three months after the explosion) were compared with those in 2009–2015 by calculating the percentage of difference, and the average concentrations of cations and anions in September (one month after the explosion) and November (three months after the explosion) 2020 were also compared to identify any abnormal values, indicating insignificant effects on the post-explosion PM in terms of component concentrations. That is, PM and gases directly induced by the explosion might be subject to rapid atmospheric transport and deposition. Hence, the results imply that investigations of the chemical contaminations in soil and water are urgently needed. Long-term monitoring is necessary to avoid subsequent air pollution caused by possible particle resuspension. The continuous demolition and reconstruction after the explosion are possibly the main long-term effect of the Beirut port explosion, causing an elevated concentration of PM2.5 at ground level 400% higher than the recommended concentrations (15 µg m–3 for 24-hour mean). Protective measures must be taken to reduce the exposure risks by controlling the PM release from demolition and construction, traffic, and diesel generators. The cancer risk in Beirut based on PAHs measurements in 2021 was also estimated and discussed.

The role of interpersonal communication in instilling a sense of social justice: Beirut August 4, 2020, explosion

ABSTRACT The August 4, 2020, Beirut Port explosion killed over 200 people and left countless Lebanese injured and traumatized. To this date, the reasons behind the explosion remain unknown and the burden of this unjust act weighs heavily upon all Lebanese. Countless journalistic reports attest to the failure of official communication channels and the lack of meaningful action. None, however, delve into the role that interpersonal communication plays in instilling a sense of justice. This paper therefore investigates how interpersonal communication, specifically through people’s participation in communal communicative initiatives, may subvert the unjust official discourse and introduce a positive change in individual and communal lives. It posits that interpersonal communication may create a sense of justice not just between individuals in distinct interactions but at a societal level. It proposes basic tenants defining an interpersonally situated sense of justice and expands the significance of interpersonal communication in social justice studies providing it with a plausible structure.

Dissociative experiences among Lebanese university students: Association with mental health issues, the economic crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Beirut port explosion.

Dissociative experiences are psychological manifestations characterized by a loss of connection and continuity between thoughts, emotions, environment, behavior, and identity. Lebanon has been facing indescribable events in the last few years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut explosion, a crushing economic crisis with the highest inflation rate the country has known in over three decades. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between dissociative experiences and post-traumatic stress symptoms from the economic crisis, the Beirut blast, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other mental health issues in a sample of Lebanese university students. This cross-sectional study enrolled 419 active university students (18-35 years) from all over Lebanon (May and August 2021). The respondents received the online soft copy of a survey by a snowball sampling technique through social media and messaging apps. The questionnaire included sociodemographic data, the Dissociative Experience Scale (DES-II), the PTSD Checklist Specific Version (PCL-S), the Financial Wellbeing Scale, the Beirut Distress Scale, the Lebanese Anxiety Scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire. The two-factor model of the DES fitted best according to CFI, RMSEA and χ2/df values, but modestly according to TLI. The two factors were absorption and amnesia/depersonalization. Higher stress (Beta = 0.95) and more PTSD from the Beirut blast (Beta = 0.29) and from the economic crisis (Beta = 0.23) were significantly associated with more absorption. A personal history of depression (Beta = 6.03), higher stress (Beta = 0.36) and more PTSD from the Beirut blast (Beta = 0.27) and from the COVID-19 pandemic (Beta = 0.16) were significantly associated with more amnesia/depersonalization. Significant rates of dissociative experiences and their sub-manifestations (amnesia/depersonalization and absorption) were found among Lebanese university students, with remarkable co-occurrence of a traumatic/stressful pattern, whether on an individual (history of PTSD) or a collective level (Post-traumatic manifestations from Beirut blast, COVID-19 pandemic and/or economic crisis), or whether correlated to an acute single event or to certain chronic stressors, or even to a personal history of depression. Such findings must raise the attention to serious mental and psychosocial alteration in the Lebanese national identity.

Scarred Skin and Wiggling Worms: What I Learned from my Eating Disorder

ABSTRACT I was 36 years old when I was diagnosed with binge eating disorder, which was a shock. I was sitting in my dietician’s office, holding my newborn in my arms, expecting to receive the regular recommendation of specific ingredients and a food plan. But instead of prescribing a diet, Dr. R. helped me take the first step to recovery. Learning about eating disorders and body dissatisfaction allowed me to see a mirror image in my clinical practice as a dermatologist. I started recognising somatic manifestations of psychological distress on my patients’ faces. Just as my obsession with the number on the scale ultimately hid a deeper emotional trauma, I started noticing that some of my patients, obsessively focused on their pores and acne scars, were in fact battling with their own mental health. Writing in the backdrop of a global pandemic, the Beirut port explosion, and Lebanon’s economic collapse, itself exacerbating a nationwide mental health crisis, I share my struggle with my body image and eating disorder, and how it changed my practice of medicine.

University students’ experience of the Beirut port explosion: associations with subjective well-being and subjective symptoms of mental strain

Background: On 4 August 2020, an explosion shook Beirut, killing more than 200 people and leaving thousands injured or homeless. Aims: This study examined mental health of university students through a cross-sectional online survey between December 2020 and January 2021. Methods: The questionnaire consisted of the WHO-5, sense of coherence (SoC), future anxiety, self-developed subjective symptoms of mental strain (SSMS), and items assessing proximity to explosion, extent of injury and house damage. Gender, study level and social status were used as sociodemographic characteristics. Results: Of 1042 participants, 30.8% were at 0–7 km from explosion; 38.1% reported physical injuries; and 12.4% saw their home damaged. Two third (60.3%) reported ≥3 SSMS, and 73.4% reported low well-being. Students with low well-being were more often female and master students (p < 0.001). Females were more often affected by ≥3 SSMS (p < 0.001). Regression analysis with low well-being as dependent variable revealed significant associations with study level (OR: 2.30–2.94), future anxiety (OR: 2.72–4.34) and SoC (OR: 1.81–5.61). For ≥3 SSMS, females (OR: 3.09), moderate/very close distance (OR: 2.13–4.98), injury/death of family member or friend (OR: 2.07–2.06), house damage (OR: 1.72) future anxiety (OR: 1.97–3.11) and SoC (1.79–2.88) were significant predictors. Discussion: Preventive mental health strategies that strengthen SoC and outlook on future could protect against SSMS and low well-being following major trauma.

Effects of a multilayered crisis on psychiatric hospitalizations in a university hospital in Lebanon; a retrospective study

Lebanon is struggling with a multilayered crisis following the COVID-19 breakout, the economic crisis, and the Beirut port explosion. The aim of this article is to assess the effect of these crisis on the characteristics of patients hospitalized in psychiatry. This is a retrospective study conducted at the psychiatric ward of Hotel Dieu de France in Beirut between January 2017 and march 2022. The population was divided into three groups according to specific time events indicating the start of a certain crisis. Data regarding patients’ demographics, psychiatric history and their present hospitalization was collected. A total of 1655 patient files were included in the study. Overall, the rate of hospitalized women increased following the Beirut port explosion, together with the rate of patients younger than 18 years old. Moreover, during the COVID-19 breakout and the start of the economic crisis, alcohol use decreased, as well as the length of stay in the hospital. In conclusion, in the event of a multilayered crisis children and adolescents, as well as women are the most at risk of being affected in terms of mental health.

The impact of COVID-19 and the economic crisis on Lebanese public health: Food insecurity and healthcare disintegration

BackgroundThe economic crisis in Lebanon, a middle-income eastern Mediterranean country, has been threatening the health of the local population. This review will look at the impact of the economic crisis and COVID-19 on health and healthcare in the country, discussing food insecurity and water shortages, and the hospital crisis for what concerns medications, electricity shortages and workforce issues.MethodologyPeer Reviewed Literature produced between 2015 and 2021, indexed in Pubmed, Scopus and Google Scholar was used to compile this short report. News and governmental reports, alongside reports of NGOs like Médicins sans frontières were also collected; these were analysed for the production of this short report.ResultsThe challenges and public health consequences caused by the economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon were identified and commented upon. From food insecurity and water shortages, to the Beirut port explosion and the 2021 lack of fuel and electricity, it was found that the health and well-being of the Lebanese population is currently being threatened from many points of view. With food inflation rates rapidly escalating in 2020 and peaking at 441% in October, new-born and infant milk being non-existent and 20 hour power cuts daily, the situation in Lebanon does not seem to be improving. The country needs to receive international help to relief the population from these synergetic crises.ConclusionLong-term economic reforms with an emphasis on employment should be at the forefront of the government's priority list. International help should also be provided to prevent disasters like food insecurity and electricity shortages from posing threats to the lives and the wellbeing of the people in Lebanon again.

Research, Design, Action: The Story of a City’s Identity

Beirut Identity is a humanitarian Competition that was initiated to support the Lebanese community after the explosion in the port of Beirut that occurred on August 4th, 2020. Action Design Research (ADR) methodology combined with entrepreneurship education were used as the main drivers to generate real-life impactful projects for the Lebanese community. This Competition reflects my own ‘out of the mainstream’ career trajectory and my vision to create purposeful community projects combining design with actionable knowledge. Beirut Identity raised awareness of the destruction caused by Beirut’s port explosion and invited winning participants to implement their projects with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO). Supported by a global multi-disciplinary team of co-organisers and participants, the Beirut’s Identity methodology led to the launch of the Citi-Zen-s In Crisis Competition in 2021, regenerating a flow of innovation to help other communities in crisis. This paper will discuss how the action design research methodology that was applied in the Beirut Identity Competition directed participants to design impactful community projects to help rebuild the identity of a disaster zone.

Conservation of Beirut’s Urban Heritage Values Through the Historic Urban Landscape Approach

Cities are complex urban systems with dynamic transformations in their socio-economic and environmental dimensions. Several studies have shed light on the fragility of the urban heritage and the strategies of its conservation. The historic urban landscape (HUL) approach is a new framework adopted by UNESCO to deal with urban heritage. This article aims to apply the HUL approach to the rehabilitation and management of Beirut historic neighbourhoods impacted by the massive Beirut port explosion, focusing on Armenia Street in the Mar Mikhael neighbourhood as a case study. The application of the HUL framework allows for the re-evaluation of heritage not as an individual physical form but as an urban fabric interconnected to the city, inclusive of its cultural, social, architectural, and urban layers. The article investigates the application of the four tools identified within HUL recommendations—(1) regulatory systems, (2) community engagement, (3) planning, and (4) financial tools—by proposing implementation strategies in the assessment of urban heritage to mitigate major risks. The result reveals that cooperative efforts among private and public stakeholders can play a vital role in the development of Beirut heritage, acting as catalysts for urban heritage conservation. Strategies for establishing a new legislative framework that is focused on protecting Lebanese cultural heritage and ensuring sustainable adaptation planning are highlighted.