Massive Blast in Lebanon

Original reports said it was 'ahead of the Harari verdict' so it was initially assumed to be some kind of terror attack. However, it is now becoming clear that a fire at the port spread to a fireworks warehouse and also sparked off a warehouse storing benzine.

Really shocking. I know people who live there and I hope and pray they are OK. There are likely to be many casualties but hopefully, as with many docklands areas, it won't be too built-up.
 
Vixen said:
Original reports said it was 'ahead of the Harari verdict' so it was initially assumed to be some kind of terror attack. However, it is now becoming clear that a fire at the port spread to a fireworks warehouse and also sparked off a warehouse storing benzine.

Really shocking. I know people who live there and I hope and pray they are OK. There are likely to be many casualties but hopefully, as with many docklands areas, it won't be too built-up.
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Yeah. Seeing that too. Looks like fireworks went up and spread. Scary video :jaw-dropp
 
Vixen said:
Original reports said it was 'ahead of the Harari verdict' so it was initially assumed to be some kind of terror attack. However, it is now becoming clear that a fire at the port spread to a fireworks warehouse and also sparked off a warehouse storing benzine.

Really shocking. I know people who live there and I hope and pray they are OK. There are likely to be many casualties but hopefully, as with many docklands areas, it won't be too built-up.
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What, no conspiracy this time?
 
Belz... said:
What, no conspiracy this time?
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There are some reports that it is a Hezbollah missile and others that the mushroom cloud effect points to something stronger than a 'fireworks explosion' alone, possibly some highly explosive materials stored underground.

Don't shoot me, this is what Israeli intelligence is purportedly saying.
 
Mike! said:
Holy smoke! That shock wave makes it look like a small nuke going off! Dang. :eye-poppi
The aftermath footage looks pretty devastating, but I don't know how close to the blast that was taken from.
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Apparently an explosion in the fireworks factory caused a sudden aeration of particulate in all the canisters in the adjacent silos and thus a hugely powerful blast.
 
Seen a few different videos of the blast via twitter - the first fire definitely fireworks - but the second, massive blast that tore through the area was something else. Something like that would be magnificent, except it's in a city so it's actually horrifying watching buildings just flat out vanish in the blast.
 
Mumbles said:
Seen a few different videos of the blast via twitter - the first fire definitely fireworks - but the second, massive blast that tore through the area was something else. Something like that would be magnificent, except it's in a city so it's actually horrifying watching buildings just flat out vanish in the blast.
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Think of it as a flour bomb - lots of small combustible particles in the air, sudden ignition. I've done this on a small scale with a bag of flour, it's quite spectacular. There's a reason there are warnings about naked flames near empty grain silos.

Multiply that effect by 1 million plus, and you've got this truly massive explosion.
 
The Guardian has this footage posted, showing the secondary (larger) detonation.

 
I could buy this being a benzene explosion. That's stuff is some serious disaster-juice. Last year a somewhat smaller-scale benzene explosion in Yancheng, China, killed 64 people and caused similar physical devastation to the nearby area.

That vivid red smoke over the aftermath is curious. I wonder if it can help nail down the chemical involved in the explosion.
 
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EvilBiker said:
Think of it as a flour bomb - lots of small combustible particles in the air, sudden ignition. I've done this on a small scale with a bag of flour, it's quite spectacular. There's a reason there are warnings about naked flames near empty grain silos.

Multiply that effect by 1 million plus, and you've got this truly massive explosion.
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I considered that, along with "benzine container". Definitely not a nuke - those cause EMPs that would knock out cell towers, cell phones themselves, etc.

Their Interior Ministry is saying no fatalities. I could understand no *known* fatalities, because you're not going to get into there for a while.
 
Mumbles said:
I considered that, along with "benzine container". Definitely not a nuke - those cause EMPs that would knock out cell towers, cell phones themselves, etc.

Their Interior Ministry is saying no fatalities. I could understand no *known* fatalities, because you're not going to get into there for a while.
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Super scary explosion. There will be fatalities.
 
Lebanon's Head of General Security says the blast was caused by a fire in a depot of highly explosive material, including Sodium nitrate, at Beirut's port. He said that material was confiscated from a ship months ago and stored there.
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Source

This tweet shows some of the devastation at the port.

Sodium nitrate - yeah, that'll do it. Sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate were involved in the 2015 Tianjin disaster.
 
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I don't think a terror attack would consist of two different explosions. "Hey, let's blow up this thing and then hope it detonates this other thing," doesn't seem like a good plan.

I can certainly see the standards for storing hazardous materials not being nearly so stringent in Lebanon than they are (hopefully) here.

And yet, sadly, this is going to give CTists and extremists plenty of reasons to blame Israel.
 
Dr. Keith said:
Not locally, it seems. Odd really.
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Hezbollah itself is already on record denying that it was an Israeli strike. I guess when both Israel and Hezbollah agree, there isn't much room left for speculation along those lines.
 
Checkmite said:
Hezbollah itself is already on record denying that it was an Israeli strike. I guess when both Israel and Hezbollah agree, there isn't much room left for speculation along those lines.
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Well, that's a relief to hear.
 
Loss Leader said:
I don't think a terror attack would consist of two different explosions. "Hey, let's blow up this thing and then hope it detonates this other thing," doesn't seem like a good plan.

I can certainly see the standards for storing hazardous materials not being nearly so stringent in Lebanon than they are (hopefully) here.

And yet, sadly, this is going to give CTists and extremists plenty of reasons to blame Israel.
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Texas has had a number of such explosions in chemical plants.
 
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