Post Disaster Rapid Hospital Assessment – Beirut Blast

WHO Emergency Damage Report (August 2020)

Partner: World Health Organization (WHO) – Lebanon
Role: Field coordination & structural assessment
Lead contributor: Dr. Nagi Souaiby, MD, MPH, MHM
Location: Beirut, Lebanon
Timeline: August 8–12, 2020
Report completed: August 2020

Project Overview

Following the devastating Beirut Port explosion on August 4, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) commissioned a rapid assessment of the hospitals most affected by the blast. This assessment aimed to evaluate the extent of structural, functional, and non-structural damage across five major hospitals, identify critical repair needs, and estimate reconstruction costs. The findings informed WHO’s emergency health system recovery strategy in Lebanon.

Our Role

As the coordinating institution, we:

  • Led field coordination in partnership with the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health (MOPH)

  • Deployed two multidisciplinary teams composed of physicians, biomedical engineers, civil engineers, and nurses

  • Utilized an adapted WHO-PAHO “Post Disaster Rapid Hospital Assessment” tool for data collection

  • Conducted on-site inspections across five hospitals within 72 hours

  • Delivered a summary of immediate needs, prioritized actions, and preliminary budget estimates to WHO Lebanon

Our Approach

The rapid hospital assessment involved:

  • Hospital visits between August 9 and 10, 2020, with joint debriefings and daily coordination

  • Use of WHO-adapted checklists for hospital administrators, assessing structural (S), non-structural (N), and functional (F) capacity

  • Collaboration with hospital-assigned guides and WHO emergency response experts

  • Data collection on physical damage, non-functioning systems, medical equipment status, and safety of buildings

  • Photo documentation and damage estimation based on Lebanese Order of Engineers standards

Key Areas of Impact

The report provided immediate and actionable insights, including:

  • Saint Georges University Hospital: Estimated damage of $8.9 million; urgent needs included ER rehabilitation, ventilation systems, and debris clearance

  • Rosary Sisters Hospital: $5.8 million in civil works required; major damages to ophthalmologic equipment pending technical verification

  • Geitaoui Lebanese University Hospital: $4.8 million in civil works; urgent repairs to operating rooms and emergency services

  • LAUMC-Rizk Hospital: $845,000 estimated for structural repair; extensive damage to windows, frames, and internal partitions

  • Beirut Governmental Hospital – Quarantina: Old building deemed unsafe; demolition and reconstruction recommended at an estimated cost of $5.5 million

Main Challenges and Recommendations

Despite successful site coordination, teams faced several limitations:

  • Many machines and devices were not yet tested due to electricity failures, delaying accurate assessment of biomedical damage

  • Follow-up visits are recommended once electricity and technical conditions allow safe equipment testing

  • Special attention should be given to functional restoration of emergency rooms, labs, and imaging centers