This is supposedly a very close video of the beforemath, but I can’t understand how footage from that position could be available unless it was being live-streamed. Anyone standing that close, their phone, and the building they were stand on would surely have been obliterated.
Phone camera on a drone maybe?
Yeah, I had relatives working the docks the day of the Texas City explosion. When I saw this it immediately reminded me of that and the explosion at West. I told my wife “That’s almost certainly an ammonium nitrate explosion.”
The list of things that will explode that way which humans also keep in giant storehouses so they can explode that large is kind of short. I’m pretty sure if you blew up the silo next to where the explosion happened with a perfect grain dust explosion, it wouldn’t go up like that one did.
Nah, that would have led to lovely sights like rockets and mortars flying over downtown Beruit and I speak from experience. having witnessed this).
I bet that welder had no idea what was nearby where he was working.
Probably not. If you filled the silos with any kind of explosive aerosol, it wouldn’t have anywhere near the mass or explosive energy of 2700 tons of ammonium nitrate.
Entirely possible. Some places are more lax than others. Where I work, if we are going to be welding somewhere other than at a designated welding workstation, we have to fill out a permit verifying that we have removed flammable material from the area, have a fire extinguisher nearby, and know where the nearest fire alarm pull is, and the site has to be inspected 30 minutes after work is completed to verify nothing is smoldering.
Funny, a welding mishap is reportedly what caused the similarly-scaled PEPCON disaster 32 years ago.
I base my statement about the welder not knowing the danger on the fact that for six years no one did squat about that pile of ammonium nitrate, except for that one guy who kept writing letters and trying to get a court to do something about the danger. No one with any authority cared. I find it entirely plausible that no one bothered to warn the welder, or any other workers in the area.
Curious: aid is pouring into Lebanon from all over the world. Is the US Federal government sending anything? (Not private aid organizations, which I’m sure will be sending help.)
Interesting video of the event happening during a Bridal shoot.
The bride and her husband were interviewed in TV this morning - looks like both are alright, although still shook up. Understandably so.
I just came across the article linked below, about the great Halifax explosion of 1917 which had even more casualties than this one in Beirut, caused by a fire and subsequent explosion of a ship carrying munitions for WW I. It struck me as a really odd coincidence that this was just months before the outbreak of the huge Spanish Flu pandemic. Now here we are in the middle of another pandemic and another catastrophic explosion, not to mention the rise of Trumpism and authoritarianism. Sometimes, it seems, it’s just a lousy time to be on this planet.
Still wondering about this…
The statement by the secretary of state offers unspecified assistance.
Timestamp was 5:41 this morning:
The relevant quote:
Pompeo voiced “our steadfast commitment to assist the Lebanese people as they cope with the aftermath of this terrifying event,” according to a statement on the call.
He “further stressed our solidarity with and support for the Lebanese people as they strive for the dignity, prosperity and security they deserve.”
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Pompeo later told a news conference that the United States would unveil measures to support Lebanon “in the coming days.”
IOW, this is all still unfolding. General pledges of assistance from the US government have been made, with specifics yet to follow. Stay tuned, we’ll see what comes…
I expect an announcement in two weeks.
Thanks for researching this, y’all. My google-fu was weak on this topic.
So far three C-130s of food, water, and medical supplies were announced today . GEN McKenzie’s role is not identified in that article. He is the commander of US Central Command. Potentially that means we are talking hours not days until delivery. GEN McKenzie has full authority to pull the aid from his command’s war stocks and use cargo aircraft already located in the middle east.
Thanks. Not much noise being made about it here. That link was from Turkish Press. Weird.
Ok. Here’s something in WaPo
This is waaaay down in the article after mentioning all the other aid that’s coming in.
…Gen. Frank McKenzie, the head of the U.S. military’s Central Command, offered his condolences for the suffering in Beirut during a call on Thursday with the Lebanese Armed Forces commander, Gen. Joseph Aoun.
In a statement, Capt. Bill Urban, a spokesman for McKenzie, said that McKenzie had informed Aoun that the U.S. military had sent three military transport planes carrying food, water and medical supplies.
“Gen. McKenzie expressed U.S. willingness to continue to work with the Lebanese Armed Forces to help provide aid and assistance to meet the needs of the Lebanese people during this terrible tragedy,” Urban said…
I’m not saying we should be blowing our own horn or anything, but usually, the US is in the lead on something like this. Different times.
AN is a high explosive by itself. Detonation velocity is 2800 meters/sec. Doesn’t need oxygen or carbonization or whatever. Feel free to read up about it here in TM 9-1300-214 Military Explosives, Propellants, and Pyrotechnics. Big PDF https://www.militarynewbie.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/TM-9-1300-214-Military-Explosives.pdf
AN goes back to 1654. Ammonium nitrate was first prepared by
J. R. Glauber, a German chemist.
It’s generally not used as a military explosive as itself because of being highly hygroscopic; it sucks up water. AN is mixed with TNT and/or other explosives as an extender. It also produces large volumes of gas, good at disrupting foundations, buildings and roads. There is an older model 40lb. cratering charge with AN exclusively.
Sensitivity to detonation is very dependent on its density. If it gets exposed to moisture and dried out (see humid port conditions and high heat), the grains or prills will breakdown and the AN will compact. Think putting large crystal salt in a glass, adding water, then drying it out. When the AN is mixed with a fuel oil or other slurry, this material is absorbed into the prills allowing a detonation shock wave to proceed through the material at a faster rate.
From the various videos, an explosion and fire involving fireworks initiated the AN stored in an adjacent warehouse.
I taught this subject for many years and worked with ammo and explosives for 37 years.
I don’t have a problem with the US government not making a big deal of the aid that’s being sent. It would be bragging unnecessarily when thousands of people had their lives turned upside down.
This is not about bragging or being insensitive to a tragedy that has struck elsewhere. Nor am I quibbling over the government not making a big deal. I’m surprised the media aren’t making a bigger deal-- as they normally do when something like this happens.
In past incidents when US international aid has gotten more coverage, it’s appropriate to inform US citizens that the government cares and to let them know what we as a nation are doing to help a country where many US citizens have family, friends, and ties of some sort. For someone (like me) to have to go searching to see what we’re doing is… odd. Maybe it’s because the WH doesn’t have a real press department any more. I mean where would such information come from-- presidential tweets? Hell, he can’t spell Lebanon and doesn’t have any idea where it is.