BEIRUT (Dispatches) – Lebanon is scrambling to keep supply water to many areas across the capital city of Beirut and Mount Lebanon running after it sought help from friendly countries like Iran to tack its fuel shortages, water authorities say.
The Establishment of the Water of Beirut and Mount Lebanon (EBML) said in a statement that it was compelled to ration supplies in most of the areas within its jurisdiction.
Lebanon has been experiencing an economic hardship, suffering from shortages in fuel, medicine and basic commodities and foreign currency.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that millions of people in Lebanon could face a critical shortage of water or be cut off completely in the coming days in the wake of a severe fuel crisis in the cash-strapped Arab nation.
“Vital facilities such as hospitals and health centers have been without access to safe water due to electricity shortages, putting lives at risk,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in a statement on Saturday.
“If four million people are forced to resort to unsafe and costly sources of water, public health and hygiene will be compromised, and Lebanon could see an increase in waterborne diseases, in addition to the surge in COVID-19 cases,” she noted.
The senior UN official also urged the formation of a new Lebanese government to tackle the crisis.