Huge explosion in Lebanon, 4th Aug 2020

[T & P]

Fuck knows. Cameras can play tricks etc. but I don't think I've ever seen a non-nuclear explosion so big.

The one in China a couple of years ago looked as big if not bigger (22 seconds in)



I reckon the fuel ingredients and blast velocity will also make some explosions different to others. The Beirut and Chinese explosions certainly look different in many ways, even if the resulting fireball might have ended up being similar in size.

 

[Indeliblelink]

i think the tall building is the grain storage silo.

 

[8ball]

The one in China a couple of years ago looked as big if not bigger



I reckon the fuel ingredients and blast velocity will also make some explosions different to others. The Beirut and Chinese explosions certainly look different in many ways, even if the resulting fireball might have ended up being similar in size.

I think the thing there is that those are materials designed to be bright and noisy and smoky, and it is at night. This looks like a terrible, awful massive shockwave.

 

[Espresso]

Just seen it on the news. Good grief, it was terrifying. Those poor people.

 

[T & P]

I think the thing there is that those are materials designed to be bright and noisy and smoky, and it is at night. This looks like a terrible, awful massive shockwave.

Yeah, on viewing further pics I fear you might be right

 

[platinumsage]

 

[not-bono-ever]

Christ that is terrible. Poor people. Beirut is running on empty at the minute with no electricity for much of the time anyway. Awful situation to try and assist in mid summer with likely no utilities functioning

 

[cyril_smear]

Fire work factory fire?

 

[LDC]

Fire work factory fire?

My guess is no, something much bigger, but definitely secondary explosion so something caught after the initial ignition/explosion.

 

[teqniq]

Fire work factory fire?

Large amount of ammonium nitrate stored next door since 2014 apparently. this produced the secondary explosion. Talk of incompetence and corruption wrt to customs officials on Twitter

 

[cyril_smear]

My guess is no, something much bigger, but definitely secondary explosion so something caught after the initial ignition/explosion.

I had only seen the explosion video, and somebody saying it was a firework factory before I made my post, so I was a bit sceptical that Lebanese gov/media were downplaying something... clearly that's not the case.

Jesus wept though, I can't imagine what's going off in Beirut tonight.

 

[Idris2002]

TBF that level of damage - and it looks absolutely horrific - looks a lot more like an industrial accident involving many tonnes of stuff going up. I doubt there are non-nuclear munitions that can cause that amount of damage, though I suppose its possible that someone might have turned a factory into a giant IED or something (though managerial incompetence has a much longer record of doing that).

Didn't the Halifax disaster in 1917 unleash a force similar to an atom bomb?

 

[platinumsage]

Didn't the Halifax disaster in 1917 unleash a force similar to an atom bomb?

There was also the Galveston disaster involving ammonium nitrate

 

[Mumbles274]

There was also the Galveston disaster involving ammonium nitrate

Wikipedia's content about accidental explosions is both fascinating and terrifying

 

[passenger]

It looked like a nuclear bomb the mushroom cloud was mad, if you
could hear it from Cyprus, that has to be 200 miles away at least.

 

[agricola]

French TV saying 27 dead and 2500 injured

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

This is what an amonium nitrate explosion looks like:




The is the Texas City Disaster of 1947, which killed 600 people.

 

[gentlegreen]

There was pepcon too - ammonium perchlorate - solid rocket propellant - not supposed to be detonatable ...
I was sure there was a UCSB video that explained it.
Massive amount of the stuff stockpiled after the challenger disaster - plus a gas main running under the site ...

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=pepcon+plant+explosion

 

[cupid_stunt]

French TV saying 27 dead and 2500 injured

Sky reporting the same, and sadly these are only early numbers, more will follow.

 

[cyril_smear]

French TV saying 27 dead and 2500 injured

I expect that to go up massively

 

[kebabking]

This bloke has two air shot videos - the first is better than the second. Shows a low, warehouse type building on fire with numerous, small explosions (fireworks or munitions), followed by a single, huge detonation.

Apologies for no link, maybe one of you can inbed the tweet?



Cheers.

 

[agricola]

I expect that to go up massively

Sadly, I fear you may be right. The one thing giving me hope is that if they had the time and had any inkling what was in there they might have evacuated the nearby premises.

 

[cyril_smear]

Sadly, I fear you may be right. The one thing giving me hope is that if they had the time and had any inkling what was in there they might have evacuated the nearby premises.

I hope I'm not right, but other than what I've rwsd in books, I know very little about Beirut. I don't know if the area surrounding that port is densely populated or what.

 

[cupid_stunt]

It looked like a nuclear bomb the mushroom cloud was mad, if you
could hear it from Cyprus, that has to be 200 miles away at least.

Not just heard, but felt in Cyprus according to Sky.

BTW - 200 km / 125 miles away.

 

[CNT36]

This sprung to mind.

Huge explosion near Waco, Texas, as fertiliser plant blows up

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22195495 Dozens of people are reported injured and others are trapped in burning buildings after an explosion at a fertiliser plant near Waco in the US state of Texas. Firefighters, ambulances and six helicopters have been mobilised to deal with the...

www.urban75.net

 

[handyman121]

A similar explosion in Toulouse, south west france killed 29; It was huge but never made the news as it came a few days after the world trade center attack in new york

Toulouse chemical factory explosion - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[NoXion]

TBF that level of damage - and it looks absolutely horrific - looks a lot more like an industrial accident involving many tonnes of stuff going up. I doubt there are non-nuclear munitions that can cause that amount of damage, though I suppose its possible that someone might have turned a factory into a giant IED or something (though managerial incompetence has a much longer record of doing that).

Managerial incompetence is right. That was what caused the PEPCON disaster, after all.

 

[spitfire]

Absolutely horrendous scenes.

You can donate to the Lebanese red cross here: Home | Lebanese Red Cross

It's a bit of a faff but if you click through you can change it to one off from monthly.

 

[spitfire]

This bloke has two air shot videos - the first is better than the second. Shows a low, warehouse type building on fire with numerous, small explosions (fireworks or munitions), followed by a single, huge detonation.

Apologies for no link, maybe one of you can inbed the tweet?

View attachment 225035

Cheers.

https://twitter.com/borzou

 

[weepiper]