Beruit...wtf?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...gtype=Homepage

probably need to work around the paywall but very good overview

Similar to the 2013 Waco Texas ammonium nitrate plant explosion. The video below shows a similar expanding white “cloud” that people normally associate with nuclear explosions.

https://youtu.be/xKj1wyAkIfU

Ammonium nitrate was used in 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

It looks like an agricultural warehouse in Beirut based on the grain silos right next door. The aftermath pictures show half the grain silos destroyed and the grain spilled out. Ammonium nitrate used to be a popular fertilizer until the accidental explosions and use in bombings.

Beirut being Beirut they probably confiscated the fertilizer before it could be used for something bad and then couldn’t sell it and forgot about it. Improper storage and hot summer days have contributed to the past fires and explosions.

I am sure those grain? elevators saved a number of lives/building acting as a blast shield. What possessed them to keep that anfo instead of disposing it? Evidence in a criminal case?

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Originally Posted by Buke

Good question. Not sure I have a real good answer. Probably most of it has to do with the circumstances that took me there. A good friend from high school moved there after we graduated. He lived there for probably 17 of the last 20 years. He only just left Beirut about a year ago to move to Ireland where his wife is from. I visited him when I was in college and it was my first trip overseas. So a lot of my romantic feelings for the place have to do with getting a chance to spend a couple weeks there when I was young and getting an insider look into life there.

But there's more to it than that. Beirut is in some ways a very progressive city on the mediterranean with a highly educated international feel. But you just barely scratch the surface and you're in a very conservative middle eastern culture. They have amazing beach resorts where there will be beautiful Lebanese women wearing bikinis and partying and drinking cocktails and 10' away there will be a conservative muslim family and the women will be swimming in their full body coverings not showing any skin at all. It's such an eclectic mix. Add in the general chaos of the place that's held over from the civil war. I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else. Even Kabul in 2002 was more orderly. People talk about how crazy the driving and traffic is in India but I'd say that it's at least 10x more insane in Lebanon than it is in Delhi. Add in beautiful mountains and forests and it's just a really special place. The cliche is that you can ski in the morning and swim in the Mediterranean in the afternoon. I don't know if anyone has actually done it but it could definitely be done.

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Well, I'm sold. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Vt-Freeheel

I am sure those grain? elevators saved a number of lives/building acting as a blast shield. What possessed them to keep that anfo instead of disposing it? Evidence in a criminal case?

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Looks like the Port folks tried repeatedly to get the stuff handled, but the local politicians just ignored their requests. I'm guessing that's the last time they handle any cargo like that again.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/beirut-ig...093800755.html

Anfo is a very powerful blasting agent. Used to shoot it in the mountains. You can buy it bagged or mix your own. 50 pounds and about a quart of diesel fuel on it.

McVey added nitromethane as an accelerator. Fuel for top fuel dragsters and funny cars. Supposedly upped the power by about 10 fold. He hit up a drag race hosted by the sanctioning body I was working for at the time trying to buy a 55 gallon drum of the stuff. I think he finally got it by lying to VP fuels claiming he had a fuel bike he was racing.

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Originally Posted by Vt-Freeheel

I am sure those grain? elevators saved a number of lives/building acting as a blast shield. What possessed them to keep that anfo instead of disposing it? Evidence in a criminal case?

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I doubt it was anfo, just ammonia nitrate.


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CNN has some before and after satellite shots now. Damn. I can't believe the death toll is as small as they've been reporting. The port must have been empty.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/world...rnd/index.html

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Originally Posted by Cono Este

Let me be the first to blame Israel, or, what is Hezbollah for $500 Alex.


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Attachment 336412

yeah no way piles of this stuff could be stored improperly in that climate and society

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Originally Posted by TNKen

Supposedly upped the power by about 10 fold.

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I'm calling bullshit on this.

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...2&d=1596631697

And just like that, Beruit had a deep-water port.

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Originally Posted by DJSapp

I can't believe the death toll is as small as they've been reporting. The port must have been empty.

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A lot of bodies close to the blast no longer exist in "body" form.

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Originally Posted by DJSapp

CNN has some before and after satellite shots now. Damn. I can't believe the death toll is as small as they've been reporting. The port must have been empty.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/world...rnd/index.html

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Believe the blast occurred after 6pm. Not sure how that port operates compared to other world ports, but normally the major ports are operational on a 3 shift set up. I suspect it will take some time to account for all the bodies. I'm sure cadaver dogs are going through the wreckage.

it looks like if that warehouse was in the city instead of over the harbor the whole town would be gone.

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Originally Posted by ml242

it looks like if that warehouse was in the city instead of over the harbor the whole town would be gone.

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That grain mill took one for the team.


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Originally Posted by Cono Este

That grain mill took 2750 for the team.


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FIFY


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Is it wrong to be thinking that most of the deaths were either in the immediate blast radius or due to falling/flying debri?

The reason I say that is there was a video on twitter that was taken at street level with a direct line of sight to the blast that couldn’t have been more than a few hundred yards away. How the fuck did those guys make it out?

I imagine that it would depend on the pressure of the shock wave at that spot. High enough pressure will disintegrate a human body.

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Originally Posted by Cono Este

That grain mill took one for the team.


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along with 85% of their grain.

This is what happens to us when things go BOOM. It was reported somewhere that the blast wave pressure from yesterday exceeded 20 kg/cm2.

Humans
1. dP is > 26 kg/cm2. Instant death, full body disintegration.
2. dP is > 8 kg/cm2. Instant death, body throw back, disintegration of body parts.
3. dP is > 5 kg/cm2. Fatal damage, 99% chance of lethal outcome. Disintegration of body parts, massive damage to soft tissue and bone .
4. dP > 3.8 kg/cm2. Heavy damage, 75% chance of lethal outcome. In lucky case hospitalization for at least 2-3 months.
5. dP > 2.5 kg/cm2. Moderate damage, 10% risk of fatality or hospitalization for 1-2 months.
6. dP > 2.1 kg/cm2. Light injuries, hospitalization for 7-15 days.
7. dP > 1.6 kg/cm2. Disruption of neural system up to loss of consciousness.
8. dP > 1.1 kg/cm2. Rupture of tympanic membranes for average human.
9. dP > 0.5 kg/cm2. Minimal safe distance for artilleryman.
10. dP > 0.35 kg/cm2. Minimal distance of possible rupture of tympanic membranes


Edit- here's what's left of someone who was protected inside a car (NSFW):

https://twitter.com/forreddit4/statu...29547550404608

Human resilience is pretty impressive.

These photos show Armenia street, which is adjacent to the blast site, right after the blast and then the next day.
https://twitter.com/BeirutCityGuide/...82269726314499

Turns out, they were just mostly disintegrated.

Chuck Norris has survived pretty much that whole list.

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Originally Posted by Viva

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...2&d=1596631697

And just like that, Beruit had a deep-water port.

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Looks like a great development opportunity. Room for condo towers, a marina and an entertainment district.

https://v.redd.it/ic9l8kj1u6f51
Build up to boom. She’s apparently begging the man to come inside.

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Originally Posted by PB

Turns out, they were just mostly disintegrated.

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That will make it difficult to come up with an accurate death count.

From Myth Busters - 5,001 lbs of ANFO. I know, not the same as ammonium nitrate. But still, pretty cool vid.

https://go.discovery.com/tv-shows/my...uck-high-speed

Also - this commentary from NYT op-ed.

By all appearances the port disaster did not involve the usual suspects — Hezbollah, Israel, jihadist terrorism or the government of neighboring Syria. The truth seems to be both duller and more disturbing: Decades of rot at every level of Lebanon’s institutions destroyed Beirut’s port, much of the city, and far too many lives. It is precisely the banality behind the explosion that captures the particular punishment and humiliation heaped on Lebanon.

So far, Lebanese officials are in agreement about what happened, though it’s likely that more than one “official” account will emerge. After all, this is Lebanon, a country deeply divided by politics, religion and history. But here is what we know as of now, according to reporting by credible Lebanese media: Some 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate unloaded from a disabled vessel in 2014 had been stored in a port warehouse. Then yesterday, a welding accident ignited nearby fireworks — which caused the ammonium nitrate to explode.

Ports are prime real estate for political, criminal and militia factions. Multiple security agencies with different levels of competence (and different political allegiances) control various aspects of their operations. And recruitment in the civilian bureaucracy is dictated by political or sectarian quotas. There is a pervasive culture of negligence, petty corruption and blame-shifting endemic to the Lebanese bureaucracy, all overseen by a political class defined by its incompetence and contempt for the public good.

It’s unclear what combination of these elements let a bomb-in-waiting sit in a warehouse for almost six years, moved fireworks next to it and allowed irresponsible work practices to be carried out nearby. But the catastrophe, while exceptionally severe, is the result of business as usual in Lebanon. The country is familiar with explosions, and it is just as familiar with disasters caused by failures of public services: a garbage crisis that dates back to 2015, an environmental catastrophe in 2019 and power outages this year that last up to 20 hours a day.

A welding accident near fireworks near 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate. Darwin award for the welder?

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Originally Posted by muted

A welding accident near fireworks near 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate. Darwin award for the welder?

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Originally Posted by JimmyCarter

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Nailed it.

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Originally Posted by east or bust

Is it wrong to be thinking that most of the deaths were either in the immediate blast radius or due to falling/flying debri?

The reason I say that is there was a video on twitter that was taken at street level with a direct line of sight to the blast that couldn’t have been more than a few hundred yards away. How the fuck did those guys make it out?

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From my (very) limited understanding, blasts go up in a cone shape, with the shock waves going both up and out. I guess you could be relatively close to the explosion and survive if you were at ground level (or below)?

With that said, a lot of the video from the 2015 Tianjin explosion was from dead peoples' phones that had already made it to the cloud before the impact hit.

Wiki says 21.6 million tons were manufactured in 2017. 80% Ag use. That's enough to fill ~10,000 Beirut sized warehouses. Where do they keep this stuff? I hope we have strong regulations. What's in your warehouse?

Amazing moment of life suddenly upended.
https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1291037496919261185

Edit: wait, here it is more direct.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L7SlqDtRnc

Man I worried we were gonna see her bloody corpse, thank goodness not.

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Originally Posted by JimmyCarter

https://v.redd.it/ic9l8kj1u6f51
Build up to boom. She’s apparently begging the man to come inside.

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Wow.

......

Attachment 336437

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Originally Posted by Viva

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Attachment 336437

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"Looks like I picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue."

This would have been a world history altering event if it weren't for those grain/whatever elevators. Instead, it's just a moderately shitty day in the Middle East.

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Originally Posted by Timberridge

Chuck Norris has survived pretty much that whole list.

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He was there with “the unit”, and lee Marvin, back in the day.


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Originally Posted by Skistack

Looks like a great development opportunity. Room for condo towers, a marina and an entertainment district.

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How bout a trump hotel for money laundering?

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Originally Posted by LongShortLong

Wiki says 21.6 million tons were manufactured in 2017. 80% Ag use. That's enough to fill ~10,000 Beirut sized warehouses. Where do they keep this stuff? I hope we have strong regulations. What's in your warehouse?

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It’s made and used all over the world. It is stored in warehouses but it is also used within a year as fertilizer. Many countries have made it more difficult to get ammonium nitrate and some farmers have switched to solid urea or liquid fertilizers.