Beirut Go Boom!

[wilheldp_PE]

Linky

Apparently there was a giant explosion at the port in Beirut, Lebanon.  Preliminary reports are that a shipment of Sodium Nitrate confiscated off a ship some time ago exploded.  It flattened the port and the shockwave could be felt as far away as 180 miles.  So far, 25 are confirmed dead and 2500 injured, but many are still trapped in rubble.

 

[Supe]

The destruction from the explosion was just incredible.  Very, very sad.  Reports were saying that the closest hospital was badly damaged and they were having to turn people away in droves

 

[kevo_55]

HFS!!!!!!!!

I hope that the death toll isn't that high. That was a huge explosion.

 

[blybrook PE]

That was one hell of a blast! I'm guessing the numbers keep climbing.

 

[tj_PE]

**** my heart sank when i saw it happen. i thought the smoke was aftermath and then boom  

 

[Dleg]

Did you see the video from the guy on the roof next door to the plant? I'm assuming that guy survived since we have the video, but i don't know how. 

 

[Dleg]

Did you see the video from the guy on the roof next door to the plant? I'm assuming that guy survived since we have the video, but i don't know how. 

I went back to find a link to this video, but it's gone from the original post I saw it in from eBaum's:

 

[Supe]

Saw a second ground-zero type vid on Facebook that's probably gone by now.  Entire area was completely leveled, bodies strewn all over the place.  It was so incredibly sad.  I have a friend who lives in Cyprus which is 145 miles away over water, and he said the blast shook them hard enough that their initial reaction was that there was a huge truck accident just down the street.  

 

[Road Guy]

I saw a view from someone on a boat and it looked pretty terrifying - have they said what the hell caused it yet?

 

[wilheldp_PE]

I saw a view from someone on a boat and it looked pretty terrifying - have they said what the hell caused it yet?

I've now seen multiple articles claiming that the big explosion was caused by ignition of ~2,700 tons of Ammonium Nitrate* that was confiscated off a ship in 2013 (!).  There was a small fire at a nearby warehouse containing fireworks, which is what everybody was filming when the fertilizer bomb went off.  

* For reference, the Oklahoma City bombing used ~6,500 pounds (3.25 tons) of Ammonium Nitrate.

 

[Supe]

I saw a view from someone on a boat and it looked pretty terrifying - have they said what the hell caused it yet?

Allegedly from welding on a warehouse door.  

 

[Road Guy]

its a little weird when an explosion in Beirut is not a normal thing...

 

[blybrook PE]

I believe it was more of the scale of the explosion rather than the explosion itself. 

I saw an article stating that seismometers rated it as a 3.5 magnitude quake in Cyprus.

 

[jeb6294]

View attachment 18299

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

Watching the various vids was quite sobering. HFS that is so terrible.

 

[Road Guy]

I wonder if being almost surrounded by water helped reduce the blast?

Also that building adjacent to the blast that is wrecked, but still standing, was probably built with old math..

 

[blybrook PE]

That's the grain silo's from what I'm reading in various articles. They lost over 75% of the countries grain supply in the blast. But I bet those silos saved hundreds of lives by absorbing the blast.

 

[Road Guy]

Have they not heard that Gluten is bad for them?

 

[blybrook PE]

I'd bet they'd argue that fact at the moment 

 

[Tiger15]

DAMN!!!!

Those videos are crazy.

My heart goes out to all those affected.

I must admit. I assumed it was a terrorist attack when I first saw the headlines. The fact that that was my assumption makes me feel bad for both myself and the world.