Breaking: Massive explosion in Beirut, Lebanon

[KokomoDave]

I call dtone strike by Israel.

 

[T.Lex]

I call dtone strike by Israel.

Sounds like it was no secret about the AN being stored there. Pretty simply to manipulate the relatively innocent-seeming conditions to get fireworks and flame in the vicinity, then make sure there was enough time to get away.

 

[Dave A]

The orange cloud is likely nitrogen dioxide in high concentration. It's consistent with an ANFO explosion, or an explosion of any other nitrogen rich medium - which is pretty much all explosives

Good call, I learned something.

 

[wagyu52]

The reports I have seen said 2750 ton but that’s metric, one metric tonne equals 2,204 pounds. That's over 6 million pounds or more than 3,000 American tons.

 

[Wolfhound]

This article says the blast was 1/5th the power of the Hiroshima bomb. Also, there is a drone photo of the destroyed silos and newly created bay.

Edit: Doing some quick research the Hiroshima bomb was around 15kt so that would put the Beirut explosion at about 3kt. According to Wiki the W54 suitcase nuke used by the United States was 1kt. So this explosion was three times more powerful than a suitcase nuke without the radiation of course.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12311215/beirut-explosion-huge-blast-lebanon-capital-hiroshima/

 

[JeepHammer]

I remember a different explosion in Beirut, 23-Oct-1983.

 

[jsx1043]

Step 1. Steal contents of warehouse. Step 2. Blow up warehouse. Step 3. Get away with stolen contents of warehouse.

I know it’s off topic, but when I read lists like this, it sounds like this in my head:

[video=youtube_share;VHQBgOZKk6k]https://youtu.be/VHQBgOZKk6k[/video]

 

[tv1217]

 

[KokomoDave]

I remember a different explosion in Beirut, 23-Oct-1983.

Unfortunately me too.

 

[HoughMade]

I call dtone strike by Israel.

My first thought, completely without evidence, was "Israel"....but do they have drones the size of a Saturn V rocket? 'cause that explosion...

 

[snorko]

"Lebanon's Year From Hell" - Death Toll Tops 100, Over 4,000 Injured After Beirut Explosion

Some amazing pictures at the link. The blast was so big it dug a hole in the ground that has been filled in with water and created a small new bay in the port.

Looks like I was wrong. One of the pictures from the article above. I'm amazed the grain elevator structure exists at all.

Before the blast. That is some crater considering the blast was minimally contained.

 

[T.Lex]

If the explosion hadn't been on so much video, I'd say that crater looked like an impact....

But there's all that video.

 

[Leadeye]

I think you have to mix the ammonium nitrate with a fuel to get an explosion like that and mix it pretty well. Just sitting in bags, it's the oxidizer in this reaction although it can decompose on it's own at a high enough temperature. I'm no judge of blasts, so it's hard to say if decomposition caused this or if somebody soaked the material down with diesel fuel before starting a fire and that would have to be a fair amount of fuel oil. Be interesting to see if any tanker trailers were in the area on a surviving camera.

 

[ljk]

 

[Clay Pigeon]

Unfortunately me too.

Yep...

 

[wagyu52]

Think of the energy those grain silos absorbed....

 

[KokomoDave]

For sure. They are full poured concrete with rebar. Maybe lined too but since it is a foreign country...

 

[NKBJ]

Maybe the grain silos' sacrificial closest wall saved some lives in town.

 

[ljk]

[video=youtube;8SovqKGFlho]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SovqKGFlho[/video]

 

[wagyu52]

Maybe the grain silos' sacrificial closest wall saved some lives in town.

No doubt, read somewhere those silos are 80% of Lebanon’s grain reserve