Huge Explosion in port of Beirut [2020-08]

[Unknown Soldier]

https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/...ut-explosion-live-updates-dle-intl/index.html

Wow! The explosion was massive! Damn, videos on whatsapp going viral. An accident caused the initial fire.

 

[AlNom]

Looked like a nuke minus the blinding flash.

 

[Karamazov]

i guess high humidity in the air made it look more "spectacular" if we can say that for such a dramatic event.

 

[BRiT]

Different views --

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290676485343318017

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290692049469976578

 

[AlNom]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290693115976744961

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290698269421600770

 

[Malo]

That's a big visual shockwave, scare the bajeebus out of anyone. Thankfully it doesn't seem to have been overly destructive. Seems to be a lot of fatalities and immense destruction

 

[AlNom]

Well...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290703188094529539

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290691644170342401

hm.

 

[iroboto]

Well...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290703188094529539

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290691644170342401

hm.

that's not good.

 

[Mariner]

Yikes.

Can't help but imagine that there will be a lot of fatalities discovered in due course and there will be so many people injured by flying glass and other debris that the hospitals will be overwhelmed. I'd guess that they are going to need a heck of a lot of antibiotics to avoid serious problems with infected wounds.

At a time where Covid-19 is causing chaos in economies around the world, will there be enough support for the people of Beirut to help them recover?

 

[Ike Turner]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290728700854636550

The source of the 2750 tons of Ammonium Nitrate:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290702640930791424

 

[iroboto]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290728700854636550

The source of the 2750 tons of Ammonium Nitrate:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1290702640930791424

Whoa. That is crazy close to the explosion

 

[London Geezer]

It's unimaginable how 2700 TONS, or TWO POINT SEVEN MILLION KILOGRAMS of ammonium nitrate was simply left there in a warehouse for years, apparently forgotten about, in such a densely populated area.

 

[Davros]

If only it was Amyl Nitrate

 

[RecessionCone]

It's unimaginable how 2700 TONS, or TWO POINT SEVEN MILLION KILOGRAMS of ammonium nitrate was simply left there in a warehouse for years, apparently forgotten about, in such a densely populated area.

2.7M grams. 2.7M kg would be a thousand times more.

 

[London Geezer]

2.7M grams. 2.7M kg would be a thousand times more.

2,700T. 1 ton is 1,000Kg, so 2,700T is 2,700,000Kg. No? Have I really spent so long in the UK that I've forgotten metric?

 

[AlNom]

It's unimaginable how 2700 TONS, or TWO POINT SEVEN MILLION KILOGRAMS of ammonium nitrate was simply left there in a warehouse for years, apparently forgotten about, in such a densely populated area.

I can believe it - they get a massive dump of stuff they simply don't know what to do with nor have money to dispose of properly (assuming there was an attempt). The people at the time have their hands tied, then move on. Things get forgotten, and/or the buck is passed on.

It's shocking how much irresponsibility there might be with (for example) University research labs when it comes to disposal and at the time of lab closure - no one wants to dispose of things properly, and things aren't labelled and shit happens! :| So I can imagine human nature.

 

[BRiT]

 

[BRiT]

Additional Before & After pics with slider to compare the two available at CNN -- https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/world/satellite-images-beirut-explosion-before-after-trnd/index.html

 

[digitalwanderer]

Looked like a nuke minus the blinding flash.

If I saw that in the distance I'd think it was a nuke going off. :|

 

[iroboto]

If I saw that in the distance I'd think it was a nuke going off. :|

nukes are so powerful, that even at a distance and you turn away cover your eyes with your hands, sailors during WW2 tests in the pacific ocean said they could still see through their hands and see the bones themselves when the nuke went off. That's how much light was caused by a nuclear bomb. That's some insane intensity of light.