# Beirut explosion **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 4, 2020, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267 "2020-08-04T18:57:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/21 "2020-08-04T23:12:57Z")
At least 70 dead. > [@](#): > > Confusion reigned across the city, as people cleared out of damaged homes or tried to locate family. Motorcyclists picked their way through traffic, carrying the injured. > > One woman covered in blood from the waist up walked down a trashed street while talking furiously on her phone. On another street, a woman with a bloodied face looked distraught, staggering through traffic with two friends at her side. > > “This country is cursed,” a young man passing by muttered. Here’s another view of the explosion: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7UlrGzZCjeQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Video shows massive Beirut blast") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UlrGzZCjeQ) And another with a bunch of footage from afterward as well: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pkt2vvWfJ9U/hqdefault.jpg "Huge Blasts Rocks Beirut") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkt2vvWfJ9U) ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/22 "2020-08-04T23:24:30Z")
One of the videos shows the shock wave just flicking? parts of buildings off as it reaches them ahead of the dust cloud. I’d like to see that one in slo-mo ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/23 "2020-08-05T00:33:01Z")
Saw this on Twitter. Does anyone know if this is accurate?: > 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate (mostly utilized as a fertilizer) was stored at the Beirut port, ammonium nitrate has an RE factor of 1/0.74 compared to TNT. Meaning the explosion likely had a yield of 2 kilotons TNT equivalent, effectively the yield of a tactical nuclear warhead. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/24 "2020-08-05T01:33:29Z")
This [news blog](https://vosizneias.com/2020/08/04/in-photos-video-terror-death-devastation-in-lebanon-explosion/?unapproved=1874537&moderation-hash=1f45cd86c0ff6b1e4611a02a8dac5c8d#comment-1874537) is running photos from the city. Absolutely horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/25 "2020-08-05T01:33:56Z")
Mr. Trump is calling it an “attack”. US intelligence and military has no idea whatsoever what he is talking about. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/26 "2020-08-05T01:39:26Z")
I’ll be suprised if there aren’t hundreds dead. Some of those videos show cars flipped over or crushed from the shock wave at some distance from the explosion. And with the glass everywhere, I keep looking to see red. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/27 "2020-08-05T01:43:08Z")
Here’s a dashcam video of the explosion: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/LFDj_2Lloks/maxresdefault.jpg "Lebanon: Video Footage Shows Moment of Beirut Explosion") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFDj_2Lloks) And check out this news story: [https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/04/politics/defense-officials-contradict-trump-beirut/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/04/politics/defense-officials-contradict-trump-beirut/index.html) > [@](#): > > While speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, Trump offered sympathy and assistance to the people of Lebanon after the explosion, which left dozens dead and thousands injured and he referred to the incident as a “terrible attack.”[An estimated 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate](https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/04/middleeast/resident-beirut-blast-scenes-intl/index.html)stored in a warehouse in the Port of Beirut exploded Tuesday, causing destruction throughout the Lebanese capital. As of Tuesday night, at least 78 people were reported killed and 4,000 injured. > > “Let me begin by sending America’s deepest sympathies to the people of Lebanon, where reports indicate that many, many people were killed, hundreds more were very badly wounded in a large explosion in Beirut,” Trump said. “Our prayers go out to all the victims and their families. The United States ready to assist Lebanon.” > > But the defense officials, who declined to be identified so they could speak freely, said they didn’t know what the President was talking about. > > One official said that if there were indications anyone in the region pulled something off of this scale, it would trigger automatic increases in force protection for US troops and assets in the region – if for no other reason than worry about retribution attacks. > > That official noted that none of that has happened so far. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/28 "2020-08-05T01:58:47Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Whatever that tall white building next to the port was, it ain’t anymore! Did you mean that one that looked kinda longish that used to be _right_ next to where the explosion happened? Yeah, I was watching that video in the article Darren Garrison linked to and it froze and buffered right. at. the. second. that building was engulfed by the shockwave. It was awesome, in the biblical sense. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/29 "2020-08-05T02:18:37Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > Saw this on Twitter. Does anyone know if this is accurate?: > > > 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate (mostly utilized as a fertilizer) was stored at the Beirut port, ammonium nitrate has an RE factor of 1/0.74 compared to TNT. Meaning the explosion likely had a yield of 2 kilotons TNT equivalent, effectively the yield of a tactical nuclear warhead. Maybe. If it all detonated perfectly, which it wouldn’t. AN detonates with lower yield under those kind of conditions, vs. say when it’s mixed with diesel fuel and poured into a hole with tamping and a primary charge. Go read Dr. Jeffrey Lewis’s [Twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/ArmsControlWonk) instead. Not so much for his analysis—though it’s usually good—but his contributors are usually pretty sharp. They’re guessing 200-400 ton TNT equivalent. Still a big Bada-Boom! ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/30 "2020-08-05T02:37:55Z")
It feeds into his narrative: enemies around every corner, foreign threat, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/31 "2020-08-05T02:46:10Z")
Lebanon’s prime minister, **Hassan Diab** , says the explosions were caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been sitting unsecured for 6 years in a warehouse … and he’s vowing to punish officials deemed responsible. For context, the Oklahoma City bombers used 2 tons of ammonium nitrate to build the bomb that blew open the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building way back in 1995, a deadly explosion that killed 168 people. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/32 "2020-08-05T02:46:41Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > It feeds into his narrative: enemies around every corner, foreign threat, etc The Yo Semites probably did it. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/33 "2020-08-05T03:05:32Z")
This video on TMZ shows what was a live video feed of a church service–a priest gets knocked down by falling debris. > **[Massive Explosion in Beirut Caused By 2,750 Tons of Ammonium Nitrate](https://www.tmz.com/2020/08/04/massive-explosion-beirut-lebanon-port-shockwave-injured/)** > > The cause of the explosion is still unclear. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/34 "2020-08-05T03:26:44Z")
Minor nitpick with large consequences… OKC bombing used mostly ammonium nitrate mixed with nitromethane (ANNM). Even bigger bang than ANFO (though there was some that too), or plain AN. And more like 3+ tons. > **[Oklahoma City bombing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing?wprov=sfla1)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, the bombing happened at 9:02 a.m. and killed at least 168 people, injured more than 680 others, and destroyed more than one-third of the building, which had to be demolished. The blast destroyed or da... ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/35 "2020-08-05T04:15:41Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > It feeds into his narrative: enemies around every corner, foreign threat, etc. A competent conspiracy theory writer would say Trump and the GOP did this themselves to distract from his abysmal polls in the US. They’d also say he’s calling it an attack so he can send US troops there and finally and really be a wartime president. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > The Yo Semites probably did it. Well, we do know the orange clown is a Nah Semite. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/36 "2020-08-05T04:27:51Z")
the white building next to the explosion was a group of silos so it would have been nothing but cement and rebar. that’s why it was still standing. The initial explosions looked like fireworks going off. Not a good combination. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/37 "2020-08-05T04:45:48Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Lebanon’s prime minister, **Hassan Diab** , says the explosions were caused by 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been sitting unsecured for 6 years in a warehouse … and he’s vowing to punish officials deemed responsible. Is it typical for such dangerous material in such a large quantity to be stockpiled in a populated area like this? ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/38 "2020-08-05T08:23:42Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > Is it typical for such dangerous material in such a large quantity to be stockpiled in a populated area like this? It’s not particularly dangerous – that’s one of the big reasons for using it as an explosive. Before you mix it with the fuel oil, it’s not explosive at all, and after you mix it with the fuel oil, it takes something like dynamite to detonate it. That doesn’t mean it’s safe – you wouldn’t be allow to truck it through tunnels here – but they sometimes store fuel or have refineries in port areas too, and they aren’t safe either. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/39 "2020-08-05T10:14:15Z")
From the pictures included with this AP article, it looks like that silo might have been a case of being lucky rather than good. > **[Negligence probed in deadly Beirut blast amid public anger](https://apnews.com/4475998de078a93bbe91b7ac9d43ada2)** > > BEIRUT (AP) — Investigators probing the deadly blast that ripped across Beirut focused Wednesday on possible negligence in the storage of tons of a highly explosive fertilizer in a waterfront warehouse, while the government ordered the house arrest... ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267/40 "2020-08-05T10:22:17Z")
Wow… Holy shit is right! Was that semicircular bay next to the silos there before the explosion or is that what’s left of the warehouse? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beirut-explosion/917267.md?page=3)