Massive explosion in Tianjin

[Oberon]

A massive explosion has occurred in the Chinese port city of Tianjin, with hundreds of wounded and many feared dead. The exact cause of the explosion, which caused a magnitude 2.9 seismic event, is not known but reports have varied from a shipment of explosives detonating, a cargo ship detonating and setting off nearby petrol containers, to possibly an LNG ship exploding (although I rate this as unlikely since the explosion would probably be a magnitude greater). The explosion was picked up by infra-red weather satellites in orbit, and the heat from the fires created is still displaying on some of them.

Video links of the event:





EDIT: There are reports of houses have been destroyed by the shockwave of the explosion 10km away from the blast.

Seven Hells!

There are reports of houses have been destroyed by the shockwave of the explosion 10km away from the blast.

Then I'm not looking forward to the death-toll...

[Oberon]

I think at the very least it's going to be a three digit number. It happened late at night so there were less people on the street, but there's a lot of destroyed houses and flying debris to account for.

The Chinese seismology agency has stated that the first explosion was the equivalent of 3 tons of TNT, and the second 21 tons, further smaller blasts were triggered nearby.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-33896292

Is the cause of the explosion known already? And what the hell actually did explode!? This was some huge mushroom shooting into the Chinese sky...

Edit: I just learned to read and acquired the information myself from the link provided

[Buddahaid]

Holy Port Chicago Batman!

[Torplexed]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Holy Port Chicago Batman!

Reminds me of pictures I've seen of the Texas City disaster of 1947 when a ship blew up in the port.

[Jimbuna]

At least 50 people are known to have died, and more than 700 injured, following two major explosions in China's northern port city of Tianjin.
Twelve firefighters are among those who lost their lives; 36 are still missing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-33900268

[Commander Wallace]

The devastation appears to be worse than first thought with many more casualties.

[Oberon]

The drone footage seen in this report is incredibly sobering:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-33915683

Chemical containment crews are on the scene now to try and contain any spillages, which given the industrial nature of the area is almost inevitable.

[Aktungbby]

The warehouse that exploded is owned by a company called Ruihai Logistics, which handles toxic chemicals including sodium cyanide and toluene diisocyanate, according to reports. Sodium cyanide is mainly used to extract gold and other precious metals in mining industry. This application exploits the high affinity of gold(I) for cyanide, which induces gold metal to oxidize and dissolve in the presence of air and water; Being highly toxic, sodium cyanide is used to kill or stun rapidly such as in widely illegal cyanide fishing and in collecting jars used by entomologists. Toluene diisocyanateIt is used in the production of flexible polyurethane foams: TDI is classified as “very toxic” by the European Community. In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has set a permissible exposure limit with a ceiling at 0.02 ppm (0.14 mg/m3), while the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has not established a recommended exposure limit, due to the classification of toluene diisocyanate as a possible occupational carcinogen. In short: "hasta la vista BBY" those protective suits...are necessary....

Originally Posted by Torplexed

Reminds me of pictures I've seen of the Texas City disaster of 1947 when a ship blew up in the port.

pssst! Two ships and much bigger; along with the Port Chicago disaster in WWII. 581 dead: The SS Grandcamp exploded at 9:12 a.m. Exploded is probably too mild a word.
The captain and 32 of the Grandcamp's crew died; 10 somehow survived. More than 200 people were killed on the quay, including the fire department. The blast was heard 160 miles away. It shattered all the windows in Texas City and half of those in Galveston, 10 miles away.
Some debris reached an altitude of nearly 3 miles before falling back to earth. Two airplanes circling overhead were blown apart by the heavy shrapnel. A one-ton piece of the ship's propeller shaft landed 2½ miles away. Other pieces sailed 5 miles.
The blast flattened 20 waterfront blocks and 12 blocks inland. Flaming debris ignited oil, gas and chemical tanks at the sprawling Monsanto complex and three nearby oil companies. The horror did not cease...The second ship, SS Highflyer, similarly loaded, blew up, also raining death and fire anew on Texas City. The shockwave and new fires killed hundreds more.
The fires were not put out until April 18. Bodies and parts of bodies were strewn all over town. "Blood and guts" was not just a phrase. At least one survivor reported getting stuck in a slippery tangle and looking down to see that it was human intestines. oddly enough the Chinese firefighters are likely using the Texas City disaster as a guide as Fireftr18 pointed out: it's still studied today!

[CCIP]

Well, I think if we're comparing this to similar incidents from the past, nothing will ever quite live up to the Halifax Explosion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion

Roughly 130 times (!) as powerful in TNT equivalent as the Tianjin explosion, and caused, among other things, a 60-foot tsunami in the harbor (not to mention flattening most of Halifax and Dartmouth, and killing at least 2,000 people).

Quite sad to see the same sort of thing happening today in China though

[fireftr18]

Originally Posted by CCIP

Well, I think if we're comparing this to similar incidents from the past, nothing will ever quite live up to the Halifax Explosion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion

Roughly 130 times (!) as powerful in TNT equivalent as the Tianjin explosion, and caused, among other things, a 60-foot tsunami in the harbor (not to mention flattening most of Halifax and Dartmouth, and killing at least 2,000 people).

Quite sad to see the same sort of thing happening today in China though

You would think, or at least hope that people learn from mistakes of the past. The saddest part is that they are same mistakes over and over again.

http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-atta...-Chinese-port/

[Dowly]

That was one helluva boom.

Hell, the first one from some perspectives was already a big one, then the final BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Dowly

That was one helluva boom.

Hell, the first one from some perspectives was already a big one, then the final BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

Unfortunately this is the price that is paid for rapid industrialisation, things like this are going to happen, mistakes will be made because things need to be done as cheaply as possible and as quickly as possible, and if safety corners are cut then so be it.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Unfortunately this is the price that is paid for rapid industrialisation, things like this are going to happen, mistakes will be made because things need to be done as cheaply as possible and as quickly as possible, and if safety corners are cut then so be it.

You should know! this sort of thing all started in Jimbuna's backyard...in 1854! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_fire_of_Newcastle_and_Gateshead