OT: Pray for Beirut and Lebanon

[yinzerniner]

Initial reports are 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded, roughly equal to what leveled Texas City in 1947. Dozens dead so far, thousands injured, blast could be felt 100 miles away at a strength of roughly 3.3 on the Richter scale.

But longterm damage could be much worse, as Beirut is the central port to which all economic activity flows throughout the country. This could easily incite famine along with the medical and economic hardships of coronavirus.

Pray for Beirut and the Lebanese people.

https://twitter.com/Joyce_Karam/status/1290714124423516162?s=20

[AngryScientist]

Yes, some work contacts forwarded some info, i wish i could figure out how to upload video here. the amount of tangential destruction is incredible. not good.

[rnhood]

It's sad, and hopefully they will learn for their mistakes.

[reuben]

Video and article.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-53656220

[reuben]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/C5764QWWOUI6VHDV2BRUSZ7WZ4.jpg&w=1200

[robertbb]

The shockwave is absolutely insane!

Won't be long before the conspiracy theories (and warmongering) begin...

[Hilltopperny]

This is catastrophic. My thoughts and prayers for the people of Beruit.

[Allcarbon]

The destructive force of the shockwave was horrifying. Really hope the casualties are not as high as that explosion looked...

[KJMUNC]

Initial reports are 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded, roughly equal to what leveled Texas City in 1947.
https://twitter.com/Joyce_Karam/status/1290714124423516162?s=20

Whoa.....for those who remember the OKC bombing: that was 7000lbs of ammonium nitrate.....which is roughly one tenth of one percent of the material that exploded today.

[Matthew]

Incredible video. They said the airport had damage and it's 6 miles away. Very sad for the loss of life and injuries.

[glepore]

I do feel for them.

But who the hell stores over 50,000 lbs of ammonium nitrate next to a fireworks warehouse? I mean, what could go wrong?

[weisan]

video captured from various perspectives

https://youtu.be/eCSQXzGhVj0

[Toeclips]

I think it's the largest mushroom cloud explosion I've seen in my lifetime

My heart goes out to all who are in need over there

[the bottle ride]

But who the hell stores over 50,000 lbs of ammonium nitrate next to a fireworks warehouse? I mean, what could go wrong?

This.

[LJohnny]

The news reports 2750 Tons of Ammonium nitrate, that is 5.5 million pounds. That is insane, no wonder the magnitude of the explosion.

[Louis]

The news reports 2750 Tons of Ammonium nitrate, that is 5.5 million pounds. That is insane, no wonder the magnitude of the explosion.

It's so much, how does such a huge quantity even explode all at the same time? I don't know anything about this sort of chemical reaction, but wow, that is amazing.

[glepore]

It's so much, how does such a huge quantity even explode all at the same time? I don't know anything about this sort of chemical reaction, but wow, that is amazing.

It doesn't, unless its compacted and charged. But if its smoldering in a low oxygen situation and suddenly something hits air...

But, honestly, there may be more to this story. Or not.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Fertilizer_Company_explosion

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fertilizer-explosion-kills-581-in-texas

One was an accident, one wasn't. Of course, there's Oklahoma City as well. So who knows.

[madsciencenow]

This is catastrophic. My thoughts and prayers for the people of Beruit.


+100


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LJohnny]

Having worked during the the dog days of summer in farms during my high school days, I can tell you that fertilizer formulated NH4NO3 can form a hot amalgam and almost start liquefying. So if the conditions were hot and humid things can start melting together.

[Hellgate]

I do feel for them.



But who the hell stores over 50,000 lbs of ammonium nitrate next to a fireworks warehouse? I mean, what could go wrong?Inshallah

[jlwdm]

Shocking that this much ammonium nitrate had been stored there for about 6 years.

Jeff

[josephr]

video captured from various perspectives

https://youtu.be/eCSQXzGhVj0

thanks...first time seeing video footage of the aftermath. Gonna need a really big shopvac! Seriously, I read 4000 wounded going to hospitals...take that on top or corona and you know their hospitals are over-whelmed.

[oldpotatoe]

The shockwave is absolutely insane!

Won't be long before the conspiracy theories (and warmongering) begin...

Already has...yesterday, w/o any evidence. Another distraction..

[William]

Knowing someone in the insurance biz who knows about covering this substance for shipment - it can be very unstable if not stored properly. That much of it being left sitting in a warehouse for that many years...not a surprising outcome.







W.

[Ken Robb]

I wonder why this stuff was being saved for so long.

[yinzerniner]

I wonder why this stuff was being saved for so long.
That's the million dollar question. However, with the state of Lebanon's government it's easy to see why such an oversight could be made. Ammonium nitrate is safe by itself, but can easily become deadly if not stored and protected properly. It looks like somehow someone missed that the huge stockpile should be protected at all costs from any kind of fire or other accelerant.

Good primer on the Lebanese crisis here (spookily published just hours before the blast):
https://www.theguardian.com/world/audio/2020/aug/03/inside-lebanons-economic-crisis

Aftermath of the blast site:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/world/satellite-images-beirut-explosion-before-after-trnd/index.html
https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/200805072055-01-beirut-aftermath-0805-super-169.jpg

[benb]

They kept saying the chemicals had been confiscated from a ship. Why they were left there so long who knows.

This explosion looks bigger than most of the videos of fertilizer explosions.

It is also bigger than the US explosion when we had a rocket fuel storage facillity go up in the 80s. Way way bigger.

There are videos of fireworks warehouses on fire.. the initial footage of the fire here doesn't really look like fireworks. Fireworks fires seem to really obviously look like fireworks going off + a giant fire and smoke.

Who knows what but I bet there was something else besides fireworks burning in the initial fire. Maybe just the chemicals themselves.

[Velocipede]

they said it was felt 150 miles away in Greece. I'm surprised that storage warehouse that anything is standing. Some amazing construction right there.

[Gsinill]

The shockwave is absolutely insane!

Won't be long before the conspiracy theories (and warmongering) begin...

Already has...yesterday, w/o any evidence. Another distraction..

And today called an "attack" by... well, take a guess!

[Ozz]

they said it was felt 150 miles away in Greece. I'm surprised that storage warehouse that anything is standing. Some amazing construction right there.
Those look like grain elevators....those are tough to take down

[mtechnica]

I do feel for them.

But who the hell stores over 50,000 lbs of ammonium nitrate next to a fireworks warehouse? I mean, what could go wrong?

Maybe they prayed that nothing bad would happen and just figured it would be ok, kind of like when people pray for the victims of the explosion as if it’s going to help them somehow.

[colker]

Bureaucracy, incompetence and corruption did it. It wasn´t an attack. There is no point in calling an attack when no one even comes up owning it.

[azrider]

Maybe they prayed that nothing bad would happen and just figured it would be ok, kind of like when people pray for the victims of the explosion as if it’s going to help them somehow.

Good grief.......

[mjb266]

https://youtu.be/ROrpKx3aIjA

It happened at a Texas facility about a decade back. Killed half of the towns volunteer firefighters.

[reuben]

Those look like grain elevators....those are tough to take down

Yeah, I noticed that. If they are indeed grain elevators, that will be another hit to an already struggling population. Bread is a staple in that part of the world, often with long standing government subsidies, as in Egypt.

[Gsinill]

Just read that this stuff was on a ship from Georgia to Mozambique in 2013.
Due to an engine issue they docked in Beirut.
Apparently both, the Moldavian owner of the vessel and the seller of the cargo gave up on it.
In 2015 in order to get rid of the ship, the Lebanese authorities decided to unload it and store the ammonium nitrate in the same depot where is blew up 5 years later.
There was apparently a request every year to get rid of it by either sending it back to the original owner or to have it disposed by experts but it never happened.
Sounds like typical government bureaucracy got in the way...

[ERK55]

Yeah, I noticed that. If they are indeed grain elevators, that will be another hit to an already struggling population. Bread is a staple in that part of the world, often with long standing government subsidies, as in Egypt.

It’s said that 85% of Lebanon’s grain stores were kept in that port area and are now destroyed.

[Keith A]

It’s said that 85% of Lebanon’s grain stores were kept in that port area and are now destroyed.They are already having serious economic issues, this certainly won't help :(

[Velocipede]

ESI took hi-res images of the area after the explosion. Just devastating.

[haruharu]

it seems like Lebanon hasnt caught a break since the 50s. I will continue to keep them in my thoughts

[mtechnica]

Good grief.......

Yeah, sorry for the rude comment. I guess I'm just frustrated.

[parris]

This is just horrible and crushing on many levels. The amount of loss is tough to deal with.

[AngryScientist]

Just devastating.

For sure.

For a lot of us 2020 sucks, for many more things just got a whole lot worse.

what a mess. i'm sure Covid is just going to complicate and slow the recovery.

very sad.

[merckxman]

I was in Beirut in 1967, it was known as the Paris of the Middle East back then. Prayers for all.

[merckxman]

The ship on its side from the blast in photo above is 390 feet long, passenger ship Orient Queen.

[Velocipede]

The ship on its side from the blast in photo above is 390 feet long, passenger ship Orient Queen.

And looking at the picture, it's a good half mile away from the blast site. Which is some serious DAMN!!!

[Velocipede]

For sure.

For a lot of us 2020 sucks, for many more things just got a whole lot worse.

what a mess. i'm sure Covid is just going to complicate and slow the recovery.

very sad.

They are talking about how ICUs were almost full before this and now, multiple hospitals are completely destroyed. That they had to pull patients out cause they couldn't stay in them. This entire thing is just incredible.

I have a customer who is over there right now. He's from Lebanon. Goes there in the Summer and stays in Miami in the Winter. He lives a few miles from the city center. He told me he felt it and had more than a few things fall from the shockwave. Luckily he and his family is safe.

[weisan]

As always...

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/08/anger-rises-lebanon-investigation-probes-beirut-explosion-200805191032840.html

[Bruce K]

Can’t read it without the app.

BK

[oldpotatoe]

And today called an "attack" by... well, take a guess!

That's easy....:)

[verticaldoug]

I'd think over the years either Hezbollah was stealing it to make explosives, or someone else was stealing it to make explosives.

Finally, while stealing some it, someone accidently set it off.

This seems like simplest explanation... The rest of the government bungling just created the opportunity.

[yinzerniner]

I'd think over the years either Hezbollah was stealing it to make explosives, or someone else was stealing it to make explosives.

Finally, while stealing some it, someone accidently set it off.

This seems like simplest explanation... The rest of the government bungling just created the opportunity.

This is also a wholly incorrect answer, full of ignorance, mendacity and maliciousness. Possibly bigotry as well.

The ship was originally Russian cargo bound for Mozambique with a shady owner who treated the crew like hostages, and then scheduled an illegal stop at Beirut to try to pick up extra cargo. Lebanese bureaucratic dysfunction and corruption then lead to it being stranded in a dangerous location for years since no one wanted the responsibility of moving the cargo.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/europe/lebanon-russian-ship-blast-intl/index.html

Now the original fire which is seen before the big blast, plenty of other more knowledgeable sources have said that it may have been some sort of weapons or military materials or other dangerous explosives cache.
Rob Baer (the inspiration for George Clooney's character in Syriana)
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/middleeast/beirut-blast-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html

Tony May, former ATF agent:
https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/lebanon-beirut-explosion-live-updates-dle-intl/h_ee75b837895eb26728464ff5fdb6b36b

[verticaldoug]

This is also a wholly incorrect answer, full of ignorance, mendacity and maliciousness. Possibly bigotry as well.

The ship was originally Russian cargo bound for Mozambique with a shady owner who treated the crew like hostages, and then scheduled an illegal stop at Beirut to try to pick up extra cargo. Lebanese bureaucratic dysfunction and corruption then lead to it being stranded in a dangerous location for years since no one wanted the responsibility of moving the cargo.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/europe/lebanon-russian-ship-blast-intl/index.html

Now the original fire which is seen before the big blast, plenty of other more knowledgeable sources have said that it may have been some sort of weapons or military materials or other dangerous explosives cache.
Rob Baer (the inspiration for George Clooney's character in Syriana)
https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/middleeast/beirut-blast-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html

Tony May, former ATF agent:
https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/lebanon-beirut-explosion-live-updates-dle-intl/h_ee75b837895eb26728464ff5fdb6b36b

I'm neither disputing the origin of the cargo nor the dysfunction of the government in setting the stage for a disaster.

I also note the increase tension between Hezbollah and Israel down at the border and the Israeli increasing aggressive stance.

There is a history of car bombs. It's possible Hezbollah is too legit now and well supplied by Iran, hence I hedge and said maybe others. I should have probably emphasized criminals stealing.

Considering what is happening to the financial system in Lebanon, I'd expect crime to be increasing, not unlike what we see in NYC.

You have a long list of bad actors in the region to chose from.

https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/12907-lebanese-wonder-if-beirut-explosion-was-caused-by-negligence-or-graft

[rnhood]

I'd think over the years either Hezbollah was stealing it to make explosives, or someone else was stealing it to make explosives.

Finally, while stealing some it, someone accidently set it off.

This seems like simplest explanation... The rest of the government bungling just created the opportunity.

I'd argue that this is a pretty accurate hypothesis.

[jimcav]

I'd argue that this is a pretty accurate hypothesis.

but usually a hypothesis is a reasonable explanation made BEFORE getting additional tests/facts, and that further investigation/data gathering can then determine the accuracy of the original speculation (hypothesis).

Having nit-picked, it does seem plausible that some sort of criminal-to-terrorist activity could be contributory, if not the direct cause.

I wasn't able to read all the links articles in this thread--do they know yet what was on fire initially, and for how long?

This may end up a 'perfect storm' type of real-life-but-perfect-for film event once the investigation is done.

[gasman]

This may end up a 'perfect storm' type of real-life-but-perfect-for film event once the investigation is done.

I'm afraid we may never really know the answer as there already seems to be lots of finger pointing and accusations according to some of the articles.
Who gets the blame my not be who is actually at fault.

Really sad to see this happen in still reeling from so much fighting over the years.

[robertbb]

I also note the increase tension between Hezbollah and Israel down at the border and the Israeli increasing aggressive stance.



Defending borders from infiltration is aggressive? :confused:

[CMiller]

Defending borders from infiltration is aggressive? :confused:

Well that's a complicated question for that area... for many reasons haha

[maunahaole]

My brother in law lives in Beirut. They just returned almost simultaneously to the blast. I talked with him over FB messenger last night and all of our friends and extended family are well. One friend had his windows blown in and had some interior damage to his apartment. He is well though. BIL’s take is that everything has been so fubared there for so long that a lot of folks are just maintaining the status quo (i.e. lots of backup generators in place already). It is making some already existing issues worse in a number of ways. Lebanese people have been so resilient. I hope that they have more in the tank. The political and economic situations don’t help and are many layers of complexity deep.

[weisan]

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/pictures-damaged-homes-shattered-dreams-beirut-200810051903120.html

[verticaldoug]

short background on dysfunction and corruption.
https://orientalreview.org/2019/12/17/lebanon-the-background-to-the-banking-crisis-of-the-century/

I don't agree with a lot in the article, but it does highlight the cast of grifters.

[harzkristall]

Talked to one of the care takers at my daughters kindergarten this morning. The lady is originally from Lebanon, she moved to Sweden 35 years ago.
She told me that her brother works in the Beirut harbor but took off that very day. Wow! That story really made my day.

[oldpotatoe]

Defending borders from infiltration is aggressive? :confused:

Define 'borders', who's borders? They vary depending on the point of view and each's interpretation of history.

[robertbb]

Define 'borders', who's borders? They vary depending on the point of view and each's interpretation of history.

Truth!

If I see a big wall and dudes with guns and tanks... I'm just going to assume it's a border and I shouldn't cross it (or pick a fight with said dudes). But that's just me :)

[weisan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1U2MV_OQQY

A damaged bike shop was featured in the video