Massive Explosion at Texas Fertilizer Plant. Many Injuries Expected

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Looks like the bad news just keeps on coming. :down: I think CNN sucks... but they've got a good video grab here.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/17/us/texas-explosion/index.html

[AndyJWest]

Nasty, though apparently no fatalities reported.

It is worth bearing in mind that commercial fertilizer manufacture can be a fairly hazardous process - there seems no reason to assume this is anything other than an accident.

[GoldenRivet]

We've been watching this for a short while now.

Awful.

fertilizer processing can be some dangerous stuff :nope:

[razark]

Nasty, though apparently no fatalities reported.
From some reports I've read, that will not remain so. It seems there was a fire prior to the explosion, with a large number of firefighters onsite when the explosion occurred.

Video:
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/dozens-injured-in-fertilizer-plant-explosion-in-texas/

[eddie]

Will keep a good thought for those folks down there. Sounds like there will be a lot casualties, especially with an explosion of that size.

[Stealhead]

I hope it is not like the 1947 Texas City disaster.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_Disaster

[CCIP]

Here's amateur video of the explosion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTGkEbMtst4

What particularly worried me was that I heard "a person just jumped out the window" right before it blew :(

Looks like almost a nuke going off from some perspectives. Really a scary and sad situation over there...

[Cybermat47]

This is not a good week for Americans. Or Humans in general.

[Armistead]

Terrible.

Local news saying numerous dead, reports of 60 plus, but probably worse.
Can't believe all the houses and even a nursing home near this sight.

Also, several firefighters reported injured, probably worse.


What a week..........

[Stealhead]

Here's amateur video of the explosion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTGkEbMtst4

What particularly worried me was that I heard "a person just jumped out the window" right before it blew :(

Looks like almost a nuke going off from some perspectives. Really a scary and sad situation over there...

Damn. You can have no doubt that blast was several times louder in person and they appear to be at least 1,000 yards +/- away and it destroyed the vehicles windshield you can see that it is spider webbed.That was much more powerful than a even a 2,000 pound bomb going off you can compare by looking up shots of those getting dropped in Iraq and Afghanistan.Very creppy it almost looks like some of the explosive energy reached them something was just feet away from them you could see it.

[CCIP]

The reported dead right now are apparently 2 paramedics and 3 firefighters, first responders who went to the scene when it was still just a fire and got caught in the explosion. They would've most probably known the real risk going in there. Now those are heroes that I'd definitely pause and give some thought for tonight :(

[CCIP]

A couple of interesting maps:

Reddit users are maintaining this map of the situation based on latest info: https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=209846025921424119826.0004da9950ad853cd574 8&msa=0&ll=31.815657,-97.100344&spn=0.039603,0.084543

USGS seismic sensors have registered the explosion as a 2.1 earthquake: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000g9yl#summary

[Mork_417]

Just terrible. :nope:

[Tribesman]

More bad news.

[Skybird]

German news states "60 dead", at least 100 injured. Their source by which they quote is CBS, and CBS refers to the chief of local rescue teams.

[Jimbuna]

The reported dead right now are apparently 2 paramedics and 3 firefighters, first responders who went to the scene when it was still just a fire and got caught in the explosion. They would've most probably known the real risk going in there. Now those are heroes that I'd definitely pause and give some thought for tonight :(

Rgr that...first responders are always up there in the front line.

A terrible tragedy :nope:

[Oberon]

Damn, this has not been a good week for America at all, or indeed the world.

My heart goes out to the men at the scene of this terrible event.

[Oberon]

Seen this picture going around a fair bit, I don't know if it's shopped or not, but if it isn't...damn:

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02539/waco-fire-2_2539659b.jpg

Does anyone have any idea of the force of the explosion yet? I've heard reports of 20 tons of ammonia nitrate which IIRC would equal 20 tons of TNT, but the explosion seems bigger than that. Either way, very nasty.

[GoldenRivet]

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02539/waco-fire-2_2539659b.jpg



i dont think it is shopped, there is a Sonic drive in on the I-35 frontage road, it was built in 2008 or 2009 and there was a small amount of dirt work that had to be done to lay the parking lot and foundation of the drive in, hence the retaining wall which was constructed on the south side, this image is looking in a somewhat north/ NNE direction which is where the west fertilizer plant is situated in relation to the image location.

I say its genuine

[mookiemookie]

That's taken from the parking lot of the Czech Stop.

Incredible. I don't think that's shopped.

[GoldenRivet]

That's taken from the parking lot of the Czech Stop.

yep... you're right

[Oberon]

Incredible. It honestly looks like a nuclear blast...I mean, I know that mushroom clouds are common with large explosions, but still...wow...

[Spoon 11th]

Here's LL video about the cloud.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=240_1366272529

[BossMark]

Very nasty indeed :nope:

[Oberon]

Reminds me a bit of Buncefield, that produced a M2.4 quake as well when it went up, the sound of the explosion woke me up, even though I was nearly 100 miles away from it. It was a large Fuel-Air explosion though rather than a nitrogen based one, really ruined the local area though but it could have been a lot worse. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kP09zBkBtz8

[Kpt. Lehmann]

If I attached it correctly... here is another photo of the same mushroom cloud from the fertilizer plant explosion here in Texas:

[Oberon]

Daaamn, looks like a volcanic eruption more than a mushroom cloud in that pic. :o

[Seth8530]

and yet somehow some people still find it in their hearts to argue against safe sources of energy such as nuclear...

[Stealhead]

and yet somehow some people still find it in their hearts to argue against safe sources of energy such as nuclear...

Nuclear power is not flawless either it may be safer in some respects the problem is when an accident occurs it can cause devastation on a massive scale as in Chernobyl.

Another problem I have with nuclear power are the spent fuel rods these are danger for 50,000 years and so far no one has come up with a viable long term solution when it comes to a safe way to store them until they are no longer harmful.

[Oberon]

I think the only two truly safe sources of energy at the moment are solar and perhaps windpower, although if you're standing underneath a wind turbine when a blade comes off then it's going to hurt...
Unfortunately neither of those outputs enough power to feed our hungry empires. :dead:

[AndyJWest]

and yet somehow some people still find it in their hearts to argue against safe sources of energy such as nuclear...

How does that even relate to the topic? Fertilizer plants don't produce energy - they consume it.

[Oberon]

How does that even relate to the topic? Fertilizer plants don't produce energy - they consume it.

He could have been referring to Buncefield which was an oil refinery.

[Seth8530]

Sorry, I was referring to the fertilizer plant. What I meant was that it is strange that we are ok with things that are inherently dangerous such as driving, oil refineries, fertilizer plants ect.. But things with much safer track records such as nuclear sometimes get shunned.. Kind of unrelated...

[Stealhead]

I think the only two truly safe sources of energy at the moment are solar and perhaps windpower, although if you're standing underneath a wind turbine when a blade comes off then it's going to hurt...
Unfortunately neither of those outputs enough power to feed our hungry empires. :dead:


Though it does not happen often wind turbines have been known to (I assume) to over speed and tear themselves apart not really that risky unless you are right under it.In my experience I have only seen turbines in Germany and there they where surrounded by a perimeter fence which would keep you safe from a turbine disintegration.At least the one in the middle of a forest that I rode my bike to had the perimeter fence keeping you about 300 feet away from the structure.