In Beirut, traditional houses or buildings, badly damaged by the tragic explosion of August 4, partially collapsed due to recent rains.
Rmeil 24, for example, an Ottoman-era building located in the Ashrafieh district, is one of the few structures affected by the blast that collapsed this week with the onset of high winds and heavy rains.
At least 90 other traditional houses damaged by the explosion are threatened by inclement weather, resigning Minister of Culture Abbass Mortada told AFP.
The port disaster, which the authorities admit to the unsafe storage of large quantities of ammonium nitrate, left more than 200 dead and devastated entire districts of the capital, damaging or destroying 70,000 residential units, according to the UN.
Winter rains could finish off these rickety structures.
The Rmeil 24 building is one of the few structures affected by the explosion that collapsed this week.
LE FIGARO
“
This is our heritage, our heritage.
It is such a shame that it is destroyed in this way
”, regretted Carla, 52, who grew up near the Rmeil 24 building. Almost abandoned for more than 40 years, the building still housed on the ground floor the Hanna Mitri boutique, one of the most famous artisanal ice cream parlors in the Lebanese capital.
Popular with tourists and locals alike, this traditional brand had to relocate after the ceiling collapsed as a result of the explosion.
The strong bad weather Thursday evening widened the "
cavities of the roofs
" causing a "
partial destruction
" of the building, explained to AFP the architect Yasmine Macaron, member of the Association for the protection of sites and ancient residences in Lebanon ( APSAD).
Old buildings undergoing consolidation are threatened by heavy rains in November.
JOSEPH EID / AFP
“
We had ten days of calm and sunshine.
We could have started the first rescue actions and probably could have saved it partially
”if the owner had not been slow to give the green light to the consolidation work, says the architect.
Faced with an unprecedented economic crisis, the Lebanese state relies more than ever on external funding to save its heritage.
But donors, led by France, have pledged to bypass public institutions, accused of corruption and incompetence.
Aid, transferred to local NGOs, is trickling in and is insufficient, even disappointing.
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