Beirut Blast

morstar
morstar Posts: 6,190
in The cake stop
A bit lost for words, that footage is truly horrific.
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Comments

  • coopster_the_1st
    coopster_the_1st Posts: 5,158
    Every window blown in within a 15 mile radius. Unfortunately I think the death toll is going to rise a lot more than the 100 reported now.

    The fact that the blast has been recorded from so many sources probably makes it more real.
  • step83
    step83 Posts: 4,170
    Thats what 2750 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate stored for seven years does when it ignites.
    It was seized when the m/s Rhosus flying the Moldovian flag was forced into port after engine problems from what I gather it had no documentation for its cargo.
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  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 13,269
    oxoman said:

    Certainly frightening. Even their sworn enemy have offered assistance. It's been suggested it was weed killer. Agree with coopster, many more will be found yet.

    Fertiliser. Has happened before, many times. E.g. Texas in 1947. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster

    Lessons learned, life progresses... or not...

  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,227
    step83 said:

    Thats what 2750 tonnes of Ammonium Nitrate stored for seven years does when it ignites.
    It was seized when the m/s Rhosus flying the Moldovian flag was forced into port after engine problems from what I gather it had no documentation for its cargo.

    Looks like they offloaded it after two years into storage, and it sat there for 5 years, literally an accident waiting to happen. Everything about this is terrible.
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    Shame that it is so predictable.

    I guess all that pesky red tape and H&S gone mad serves some sort of purpose after all then.
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Lots of 'popping and banging' and 'fireworks' seen and heard on video before the big bang went off. Anyone care to speculate on what that might have been..?
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,227
    imposter2.0 said:

    Lots of 'popping and banging' and 'fireworks' seen and heard on video before the big bang went off. Anyone care to speculate on what that might have been..?

    Yes, plenty of people.
  • darkhairedlord
    darkhairedlord Posts: 7,180
    Everything from tragic accident involving embargoed cargo, to mossad sabotage of bomb making factory.
  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    kingstongraham said:

    imposter2.0 said:

    Lots of 'popping and banging' and 'fireworks' seen and heard on video before the big bang went off. Anyone care to speculate on what that might have been..?

    Yes, plenty of people.
    Thanks for your contribution...
  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    Am I right in thinking that the huge white cloud produced is caused by air being compressed so suddenly that it liquifies? Amazing.
    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • coopster_the_1st
    coopster_the_1st Posts: 5,158
    From the commentary and photos of the creator, the huge grain store next the explosion and the sea provided a barrier/cushion which meant less lives were lost and less damage done to the city.
  • me-109
    me-109 Posts: 1,915
    pottssteve said:

    Am I right in thinking that the huge white cloud produced is caused by air being compressed so suddenly that it liquifies? Amazing.

    I'd imagine a big 'chunk' of that white cloud is a result of the sea being chucked up by the blast wave and/or vaporized by the heat and speed of the big bang.

    Quite possibly just the result of a genuine accidental fire in the vicinity, but there's sure to be plenty of anti-Israeli / anti-West chatter as to the source.
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 61,808
    Apparently there was a large shipment of fireworks stored next to the ammonium nitrate, which was probably not the best idea and could explain the popping and banging reported before the big explosion:
    https://nextbigfuture.com/2020/08/beirut-explosion-was-2750-tons-of-ammonium-nitrate.html

    Estimates have put the explosion at around 2 kilotons of TNT equivalent. To put into perpsective, the A-bomb dropped on Hiroshima was around 15 kt.
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,459
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • wongataa
    wongataa Posts: 1,001
    pottssteve said:

    Am I right in thinking that the huge white cloud produced is caused by air being compressed so suddenly that it liquifies? Amazing.

    Nope. The white cloud is just water vapour condensing into a cloud due to the low pressure region behind the shockwave.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,717
    edited August 2020


    (posted to illustrate scale of the tragedy rather than as a comment on online accuracy...)
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,592
    Just saw the footage of the explosion for the first time. Awesome, in the true sense of the word, and terrifying.

    When you see Hollywood explosions the good guys manage to outrun the shockwave before getting gently knocked off their feet by the very edges of it. The reality in this case was that people recording the fire from a long distance were knocked off their feet virtually instantaneously. If the death toll doesn't end up much higher I can only assume it is due to the immediate area being sparsely populated.

    It's going to be a further long term disaster with the port being wiped out when the economy was already tanking and with the vast majority of the country's food being brought in through the port.
  • thecycleclinic
    thecycleclinic Posts: 395
    edited August 2020
    The blast and deaths are bad enough but lebanons main port is destroyed. All the goods, medicines and food there is gone. The docks facilities are gone. Ships cant unload. New goods, food and drugs cant get into the country easily. Lebonon does not have much cross boarder trade over it lands boarders. Its exports go through the port. Without being able to import and export the people of lebonon are even more screwed then they were before. That will kill more than 100 people.

    Lebanon is going to need alot of help. I have not heard britain and europe getting together and sending a team of military engineers and the equipment required to get the port open. Without that port you cant even get aid in. That port is the key to everything there. Its in our interest to help. Lebanon is failing state. We know what happened when Libya fell apart.

    Its worse than shit.
    www.thecycleclinic.co.uk
  • zest28
    zest28 Posts: 403
    edited August 2020
    Who the hell stores fireworks next to Ammonium Nitrate in the capital city? What could possibly go wrong in case of a fire? xD

    I am wondering if other ports in the world also have similar geniuses at work? Perhaps governments should inspect what ports are storing and potentially introduce new legislations to prevent geniuses from doing stuff like this.
  • thecycleclinic
    thecycleclinic Posts: 395
    Emergency aid though. They need more than that. They need a port. Lebanon has 1month supply of grain and no way of bringing in more until they can dock ships again.

    Also a cruise ship was knocked on its side. The death toll is more than 100 unless that is the one bit of luck here.
    www.thecycleclinic.co.uk
  • ugo.santalucia
    ugo.santalucia Posts: 28,325
    ... what a great example of the relevance of Frost diagrams in understanding chemical stability

    left the forum March 2023
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,592
    zest28 said:

    Who the hell stores fireworks next to Ammonium Nitrate in the capital city? What could possibly go wrong in case of a fire? xD

    I am wondering if other ports in the world also have similar geniuses at work? Perhaps governments should inspect what ports are storing and potentially introduce new legislations to prevent geniuses from doing stuff like this.

    Well that will be why port officials are under house arrest but yes, it sounds like a everyone knew it was there but didn't bother checking storage conditions were appropriate.
  • ballysmate
    ballysmate Posts: 15,996
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8597649/Orica-plant-Newcastle-chemical-linked-Beirut-explosion-leaving-135-dead.html

    Perhaps some overtime available for Aussie hauliers in the near future.
  • capt_slog
    capt_slog Posts: 3,974
    ugo.santalucia said:

    ... what a great example of the relevance of Frost diagrams in understanding chemical stability

    Can you explain what that means please, Ugo? My chemistry education stopped at HNC a long while ago, and I don't recall having heard of Frost.


    The older I get, the better I was.

  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,717
    edited August 2020
    I'm assuming that nE°N is a measure of how big a bang it makes, and - I'm only at the first castle on Duolingo for Italian mind - the bottom axis is how much air it has had...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 22,025
    edited August 2020
    thecycleclinic said:

    The blast and deaths are bad enough but lebanons main port is destroyed. All the goods, medicines and food there is gone. The docks facilities are gone. Ships cant unload. New goods, food and drugs cant get into the country easily. Lebonon does not have much cross boarder trade over it lands boarders. Its exports go through the port. Without being able to import and export the people of lebonon are even more screwed then they were before. That will kill more than 100 people.

    Lebanon is going to need alot of help. I have not heard britain and europe getting together and sending a team of military engineers and the equipment required to get the port open. Without that port you cant even get aid in. That port is the key to everything there. Its in our interest to help. Lebanon is failing state. We know what happened when Libya fell apart.

    Its worse than censored .

    Uk's offer which includes

    The UK has also offered enhanced support to the Lebanese Armed Forces, who are central to the Government of Lebanon’s response, including tailored medical help, strategic air transport assistance, and engineering and communications support.


    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-send-emergency-relief-to-lebanon

    Finally, Tripoli has a port too

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Tripoli_(Lebanon)

    And whilst I have been to Tripoli, I can't tell you anything about it.

    If Lebanon ever returns to a peaceful times, a trip there is thoroughly recommended.
  • Ben6899
    Ben6899 Posts: 9,686
    capt_slog said:

    ugo.santalucia said:

    ... what a great example of the relevance of Frost diagrams in understanding chemical stability

    Can you explain what that means please, Ugo? My chemistry education stopped at HNC a long while ago, and I don't recall having heard of Frost.
    Mine stopped at GCSE and I struggled at that!

    An explanation would be great and really appreciated, @ugo.santalucia :smile:
    Ben

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  • pottssteve
    pottssteve Posts: 4,069
    wongataa said:

    pottssteve said:

    Am I right in thinking that the huge white cloud produced is caused by air being compressed so suddenly that it liquifies? Amazing.

    Nope. The white cloud is just water vapour condensing into a cloud due to the low pressure region behind the shockwave.
    OK, thanks. Makes sense. Still amazing, though!

    Head Hands Heart Lungs Legs
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,592
    TheBigBean said:

    thecycleclinic said:

    The blast and deaths are bad enough but lebanons main port is destroyed. All the goods, medicines and food there is gone. The docks facilities are gone. Ships cant unload. New goods, food and drugs cant get into the country easily. Lebonon does not have much cross boarder trade over it lands boarders. Its exports go through the port. Without being able to import and export the people of lebonon are even more screwed then they were before. That will kill more than 100 people.

    Lebanon is going to need alot of help. I have not heard britain and europe getting together and sending a team of military engineers and the equipment required to get the port open. Without that port you cant even get aid in. That port is the key to everything there. Its in our interest to help. Lebanon is failing state. We know what happened when Libya fell apart.

    Its worse than censored .

    Uk's offer which includes

    The UK has also offered enhanced support to the Lebanese Armed Forces, who are central to the Government of Lebanon’s response, including tailored medical help, strategic air transport assistance, and engineering and communications support.


    https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-to-send-emergency-relief-to-lebanon

    Finally, Tripoli has a port too

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Tripoli_(Lebanon)

    And whilst I have been to Tripoli, I can't tell you anything about it.

    If Lebanon ever returns to a peaceful times, a trip there is thoroughly recommended.
    That had me confused - I was thinking I'm sure Tripoli is in Libya, I hadn't realised there was another!

    Lebanon, and Beirut in particular, is a strange place. Most of us will think of it as the war torn country of the 80s but it was the original Mediterranean party resort in the first half of the 20th century and was very cosmopolitan and liberal. It looked an incredible place to go if you had money before WWII.

    It seemed to be returning to those ways, very different to most of the Arab world; different religions manage to co-exist, gay clubs are fairly commonplace and I believe cosmetic surgery is very popular out there but the country's economy was being hit and there were major issues with the running of the country even before this catastrophe.
  • surrey_commuter
    surrey_commuter Posts: 18,867
    Events like this is why it is legitimate to blur the budget line between Defence and Aid as only the military will have the resources to deploy at short notice

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