Lebanon was already in crisis when a huge explosion devastated Beirut in 2020, so what kind of recovery is possible?
Beirut explosion
![A general view shows the damage at Beirut's port area on August 5, 2020, a day after the explosion [File: Reuters/Mohamed Azakir]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/72053a4e88af4b41bf9a1fc1c56d4ddf_18.jpeg?resize=570%2C380)
Ammonium nitrate use can not only lead to tragedies like the Beirut blast but also cause much harm to nature and humans.
![A general view shows the damage following the blast in Beirut's port area on August 4, 2020 [File: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/fa7fd440e00b49c0a29762ff0295906d_18.jpeg?resize=570%2C380)
Physical, psychological scars still fresh in wake of the deadly blast that destroyed large swaths of Lebanon’s capital.
![Rahayel has won several awards including the World Street Food Blogger of the Year in Cannes, France in 2019 [Timour Azhari/Al Jazeera]](/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/DSCF9141.jpg?resize=570%2C380)
Lebanon’s demise has turned food blogger Anthony Rahayel into an unlikely protagonist in the fight for its future.
![The August 4 explosion in Beirut's port area killed 200 people and wrecked large parts of the Lebanese capital [File: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/72053a4e88af4b41bf9a1fc1c56d4ddf_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
One of the businessmen had previously been accused of trying to procure ammonium nitrate for the Syrian government.
![A view of destroyed Beirut port silos after the deadly blast on August 17, 2020 in Beirut, Lebanon [Chris McGrath/Getty Images]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/5500687172224893a3e357aadd9cdd45_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
International wanted notices issued for men connected to 2,750 tonnes of explosive material brought into Beirut’s port.
![The latest charges raise the number of people being prosecuted over the blast to 37, some 25 of whom are in detention [File: Dalati Nohra/Handout via Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/0dbe0d7e8cd6440281ca2aca2e5e1243_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Prime Minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers charged with negligence over Beirut port explosion.
![As ordinary Lebananese are left reeling, the country's ruling elites have left them twisting - blocking reforms that are a precondition for unlocking billions in pledged international aid [File: Hassan Ammar/AP Photo]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/AP20336381091809.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
France’s president plans to return to Lebanon for the third time in four months to continue to press for reform.
![About 25 people have been arrested and 33 charged in the blast probe so far [File: Hannah McKay/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2020-08-11T044119Z_411219996_RC2GBI9XBD9C_RTRMADP_3_LEBANON-SECURITY-BLAST.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Top investigator asks MPs to probe current and ex-ministers dating back to 2013, when ammonium nitrate arrived at port.
![A worker arranges finished jugs at a factory, which is recycling the broken glass as a result of the Beirut explosion, in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli on August 25, 2020. The August 4 port explosion ripped through countless glass doors and windows when it laid waste to whole Beirut neighbourhoods [Joseph Eid/AFP]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/000_1WQ91X.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
The Take delves into the Beirut community’s efforts to clean up, and create in the aftermath of the Beirut explosion.
![The August 4 explosion destroyed large parts of the city, injured more than 6,500 people and initially left hundreds of thousands homeless [File: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2020-09-05T202603Z_370256712_RC2KSI9JY4JQ_RTRMADP_3_LEBANON-CRISIS-BLAST-LIFE.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Report on the causes of August 4 disaster has laid out responsibilities of various officials and security agencies.
![Judicial Investigator Fadi Sawan was provided the preliminary information during a call with a French judge investigating the blast, a senior Lebanese judicial source told Al Jazeera [File: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/da228e18fd0042368b6eafade626fec4_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Source tells Al Jazeera French investigators unable to yet determine if Beirut port blast was intentional or negligence.
![The investigation into the explosion has been marked by criticism over the opacity of the process [File: Hannah McKay/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-10-16T100933Z_307310044_RC2MJJ9531JC_RTRMADP_3_LEBANON-CRISIS-PROTESTS-1.jpg?resize=270%2C180)
Marie-Claude Najm says she is waiting for the results of the probe before she makes a judgement.
![A man stands next to graffiti at the damaged port area in the aftermath of a massive explosion in Beirut on August 11 [Hannah McKay/Reuters]](/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/fd2a23664095419db75684c207368132_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180)
Lead investigator in Lebanon blast that killed 200 has limited probe to low- and mid-level officials, sources say.