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Beirut

Utter devastation to the surounding area, nothing left of the warehouse, capsized ship just opposite the site.
I am curious though, what is that huge hole in the ground at 1:35? a 12 story basement?

 
juz400 said:
what is that huge hole in the ground at 1:35? a 12 story basement?
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Got to be hasn't it?

£50M on the way to them from us via Boris/Kier et al.

What a complete and absolute, utter, total shitter for the people of Beirut and The Lebanon. As much as anything a result of total political chaos started via good intention in stopping an unseaworthy ship sailing - good analysis in brief on R4 around 5.30 this evening.
 
^ +1 to that. a brilliant demonstration of the terrible reality of it

What immediately struck me was - wherever that was filmed, presumably not so close by - the overpressure was enough to instantly fog the air with condensation.

Utterly grim event for Lebanon, and the Lebanese.
 
PhilofCas said:
Good God! made me jump a mile (with headphones on, volume up a bit).
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You and me both (see my post 60 prev. page). Didn't realise the volume was already up, which is not usual on Utube videos. Unless that blast saturated the phone mic. Too realistic by half. Lebanon, of all failed countries, can ill-afford this catastrophe. I vaguely remember when Lebanon was a country known for banking and some wealth; no idea when, though.
 
4500 tonnes went up here,creating a 20 Metre deep crater.

In 1921, an ammonium nitrate manufacturing facility in Oppau, Germany, suffered a powerful explosion that killed 600 and destroyed most of the city. The tragic incident in Oppau occurred in part because ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate had clumped in a storage silo and formed a huge solid mass. Workers in Oppau apparently used small explosive charges to break the ammonium nitrate mass into smaller fragments and remove the mass from the silo. The small charges, thought at the time to be a safe practice, set off the powerful explosion.
 
Mike Reed said:
You and me both (see my post 60 prev. page). Didn't realise the volume was already up, which is not usual on Utube videos. Unless that blast saturated the phone mic. Too realistic by half. Lebanon, of all failed countries, can ill-afford this catastrophe. I vaguely remember when Lebanon was a country known for banking and some wealth; no idea when, though.
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I wanted to hear the sucking noise someone mentioned, so put the volume up for this, next second I nearly bounced off the ceiling :).
 
Vinny said:
..Ammonium nitrate is an oxidising agent and for it to go "bang", it needs something to reduce - a fuel, in the broadest sense. Hence the use mixed with fuel oil, as mining explosive.
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Ammonium nitrate is used as an oxidizer with diesel (the IRA coop mix), but also breaks down directly into gases in an exothermic reaction if it get hot.
Several very large explosions over the years from this
 
Vinny said:
A quick scan through and I see the "fact" that ammonium nitrate is explosive etc., repeated. IT IS NOT. On its own it is perfectly safe.

Ammonium nitrate is an oxidising agent and for it to go "bang", it needs something to reduce - a fuel, in the broadest sense. Hence the use mixed with fuel oil, as mining explosive.

Get sulphur or salt petre or powdered charcoal on their own and all three are no big deal, mix them together in the right proportions and you get gunpowder. SAME principle.

Stored away from a fuel, it would have been entirely safe, but 6-7 years stuck in a warehouse is a long time for things to go wrong, and then the fire close by to act as the detonator.
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“At high enough temperatures, however, ammonium nitrate can violently decompose on its own. This process creates gases including nitrogen oxides and water vapour. It is this rapid release of gases that causes an explosion.”


https://www.scientificamerican.com/...nitrate-the-chemical-that-exploded-in-beirut/
 
wacko said:
Lebanon: another lovely country destroyed by religion.
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Quite agree. Religions have surely been the most divisive factor in social evolution; topping even ethnic and tribal clashes, although these are largely intertwined with religion anyway.

PhilofCas said:
I wanted to hear the sucking noise someone mentioned, so put the volume up for this, next second I nearly bounced off the ceiling :).
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Think you might have transposed a letter in 'sucking'. I certainly didn't scream 'suck' when that blast hit my lug-holes but phonetically it was close !:)
 
Space is the Place said:
The Footage from social media shows the horror and devastation of a massive accidental explosion.
After witnessing a blast like this and the aftermath perhaps those that are so keen on nuclear weapons (that would make this disaster like this look tame) need to rethink the value of a nuclear armament.
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Excellent post.
 
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