The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has warned that 640 heritage buildings have been damaged by the explosion that struck Beirut in early August and that 60 buildings are likely to collapse, stressing that they will lead the international movement to rebuild the Lebanese capital´s heritage. .
The organization announced in a statement that it obtained these figures from an assessment made by Sarkis Khoury, Director General of Antiquities at the Ministry of Culture in Lebanon.
"At least eight thousand buildings were damaged," most of them were in the old districts of Gemmayze and the old Mar Mikhael, Khoury said, calling for "urgent" actions to avoid aggravating the damage with the rains in the fall.
The statement added that the explosion "also caused damage to many museums, such as the National Museum, the Sursock Museum, the Museum of the American University of Beirut, and cultural and religious sites and galleries."
UNESCO announced that it would lead the international movement to restore and rebuild Beirut´s heritage.
She emphasized that it uses first-class cultural organizations and experts in Lebanon and abroad.
The blast, which destroyed entire neighborhoods in Beirut, left 171 people dead and more than 6,500 wounded.
