Beirut Explosion - Impact Assessment

The massive explosion in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020 caused extensive suffering to the people of the city, tremendous damage to its cultural and physical fabric, and dealt a severe blow to multiple economic sectors.

There has been an outpouring of support from the local and global donor communities. Strategy& Middle East, with the support of its colleagues in the PwC network, has also volunteered its resources to conduct an impact and needs assessment that domestic, regional, and international donors can use to focus their relief and reconstruction efforts effectively.

The result is a series of needs assessments to inform relief efforts and help plan for reconstruction. This has involved an in-depth geo-spatial data analysis that incorporated blast radius and damage data from around 60 city districts. There has also been an assessment of the worst affected sectors, including housing, food, healthcare, education, culture, and businesses. For each of these sectors, the analysis has synthesized the infrastructure, social, and economic damage and priorities to provide a guide to the funding of the relief and reconstruction efforts, and to assist with targeting the districts, households, and businesses in most need. The analysis also highlights the funding gaps per sector by consolidating the pledges made and comparing them to the financial requirements.

Strategy& Middle East has been collaborating extensively with stakeholders, particularly from the Lebanese and international third sector. The aim of convening organizations for these discussions is to assist them with coordination, help them to maximize their impact, and avoid duplication of effort.

In addition, our team members have volunteered to support Lebanese third sector organizations with relief efforts on the ground. Every day they are volunteering to help Beirut recover and rebuild, building the capabilities of these third sector organizations to assist affected districts, businesses, households, and individuals.

This final impact assessment report is being made available to all involved in the relief and reconstruction of Beirut. It will be followed by an interactive map that visually displays the infrastructure, social, and economic damage in each of the 60 districts near the explosion. We are working with Impact Lebanon to develop a tool that compares pledges to funding gaps. Stay tuned.

Impact Assessment map

(Hover over an area for more details)

Note: The total financial requirements are based on data at 4.1 km radius from the explosion; noting that an extrapolation was made in the case of businesses.

 

Estimated financial requirements vs. announced pledges

Estimated financial requirements vs.
announced pledges by sector (in US$ Million)

(Hover over the announced pledges of each sector for more details)

Note: Figures above exclude US$ ~325 million in summit commitments which have not been allocated to the sectors yet.

 

Contact us

Fadi Adra

Fadi Adra

Partner, Strategy& Middle East

Dima Sayess

Dima Sayess

Partner and Ideation Center Lead, Strategy& Middle East

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