BEIRUT (Reuters – Monday’s fire at a southern Lebanon fuel storage tank caused a cloud of smoke. Firefighters extinguished the flames. A security source claimed that the army was cooling tanks nearby to prevent the fire from spreading.

The Zahrani oil refinery on the Mediterranean coast received no reports, or any official statements. According to security sources, the gasoline tank fire was still under control.

According to security sources, traffic was being diverted away from the military facility by the army. They also stated that there was little population in the region.

One of the main power plants in the country is located at Zahrani (8 km/5 miles south of Sidon).

Al Jadeed TV reported that the Lebanese Army was moving to evacuate the area, fearing an outbreak of fire and explosion.

Lebanon, currently in the throes a devastating economic meltdown has suffered a number of catastrophic calamities, including last year’s chemical explosion at Beirut port that killed over 200 people and destroyed large swathes.

As a result, there have been severe fuel shortages and power outages in the country.

Fuel shortages forced the closure of two of the largest power plants in Lebanon, the one in Zahrani in the north and the other in Deir ammar in Deir Ara in the south, causing further hardship for Lebanese, who had been living in poverty with dwindling supplies of state-generated electricity for several months.

According to Sunday’s energy ministry, power was restored to levels prior to blackout. This happened after Lebanese soldiers provided 6 000 kilolitres gas oil to two power stations.

The World Bank has labelled Lebanon’s financial crisis as one of the most serious depressions in recent history. The currency lost 90% in value over the last two years, and three quarters of the population has been pushed into poverty.

Lebanese are increasingly dependent on private generators to generate power. This has resulted in high fuel oil prices and increased dependence on state-owned electricity companies that provided only a limited number of hours of service per day for their respective districts.