HUGE explosion in China - city of Tianjin

[4601S/C]

I can't get over how massive that explosion was. My sympathies go out to those who were affected. Really sad stuff...

 

[SID297]

Thanks fully it was late at night in an industrial area. Hopefully there weren't a lot of workers around.

 

[low03tb]

Wow that last video is insane!! That shockwave blew those tree's back like nothing

 

[ElCoyote]

Damn...

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

damn, that shockwave is a hell of a thing

 

[thomas91169]

That explosion was the size of some nukes. That's not good.

Not even close, even our smallest tactical nuclear warheads are hundreds of times more powerful.

 

[encasedmetal]

how is a local saying everyone within a km didn't survive and our news is saying 50 dead? is this typical news lying or no one was really down there when it happened?

 

[Serpent]

Waiting for the liveleak videos from up closer...

I wonder what caught fire, munitions?

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

it does appear to have been a largely industrial area and in the middle of the night so hopefully there werent many people around. At this point I dont think anyone knows and as pointed out earlier I think I would take news from China with more than a grain of a salt

the article on BBC listed a bunch of volatile chemicals being stored there (they arrested the company CEOs already) and many of them have dangerous reactions to water and other chemicals so its a difficult situation

 

[R.D.P.]

Saw something saying the Chinese people will see this as a sign of bad favor from the gods or something. That the government will and is squashing it so people don't panic. Such a different culture than our own.

 

[WireEater]

2,750 Volkswagens, 4,000 Hyundai-Kia vehicles and 1,500 Renaults were destroyed in the wake of the blast.

it does appear to have been a largely industrial area and in the middle of the night so hopefully there werent many people around. At this point I dont think anyone knows and as pointed out earlier I think I would take news from China with more than a grain of a salt


the article on BBC listed a bunch of volatile chemicals being stored there (they arrested the company CEOs already) and many of them have dangerous reactions to water and other chemicals so its a difficult situation

The Tianjin Tanggu Environmental Monitoring Station data suggests hazardous chemicals stored by the company include sodium cyanide (NaCN), toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and calcium carbide (CaC2), all of which are extremely hazardous to health.

Sodium cyanide is highly toxic whilst toluene diisocyanate and calcium carbide react violently with water – a further potential hazard with rain forecast for the region over the next 24 hours.

The rain also raises the risk of chemicals being washed into local water supplies and eco-systems – with unknown impacts.

Most strange is this: I have a friend on WeChat (Chinese IM service), her friend was a soldier involved in the rescue, who told her that they had already lifted, two or three hundred bodies from the site. Internet users also said not to trust the news from the mainland."

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

Not even close, even our smallest tactical nuclear warheads are hundreds of times more powerful.

I know what ours can do. The blast of a single stage of a D5 rocket is nearly as big as that Chinese blast. I was talking about some nukes that have been developed, not just ours. Poor comparison, I'll admit. It was just such an incredible explosion though.

Edit: After watching more videos of the Chinese blast and the rocket blasts I rescind that statement.

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

I couldnt find the link anywhere else but damn!

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/84695768/

 

[72MachOne99GT]

**** that, one more reason to live out of big cities.

I hope they can locate and save as many lives as possible.

 

[jconnor3]

Wow that last video posted was crazy. I can't believe their windows didn't blow! I know its not a laughing matter, but the guy & girl talking had me laughing.

 

[WireEater]

I couldnt find the link anywhere else but damn!

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/84695768/

[video=youtube;H_nnZntSYjo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_nnZntSYjo[/video]

 

[Digital_Synapse]

That's terrible. Wow. Reminds me of that video with the car bomber that went off, then secondary explosion triggered at the apex of the 1st.

 

[VNOMIS]

I found this one. Pretty crazy and intense. I thought the first explosion was the second one because it looked so big.

[video=youtube;g7FXeaahRsg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7FXeaahRsg[/video]

 

[Jefe]

Heres everything I found on it, most in order. Feel free to put this in the OP

Notice how destroyed the buildings are, this is a view from a residential tower:

Still drives:

30 residential towers within a 1/4 mile:

View from the towers:

Check out the massive crater:

Information posted on twitter:

"The Tianjin Binhai New Area explosion, just how many people were killed? Officially published figures say 50 people died in the accident, 11 of which were members of the firefighting effort. However, "Apple" reporters followed family members of those missing, and police cars into the disastor-zone investigation. According to the police, 120 firefighters and armed police entered the site to help, but only 4 came out. Added with the others, there should ought to be approximately 200 dead.
The police also said, there were many dead from those living in their houses, mostly from broken shards of glass. The power of the explosion was enormous, with everything within 10 kilometers being affected. Police also criticized firefighters for improperly fighting the fire with water; you must not use water, use chemical foam fire extinguishing instead.
Most strange is this: I have a friend on WeChat (Chinese IM service), her friend was a soldier involved in the rescue, who told her that they had already lifted, two or three hundred bodies from the site. Internet users also said not to trust the news from the mainland."

Coordinates of the location: 39.038611°N 117.736944°E

Not sure how old these are but there are many more residential towers less than a mile away. Each tower looks like 15-20 stories. Thousands could have been in the blast zone.

zoomed out some more, over 100 towers nearby

Towers

Huge hotel across the highway

Red zone is about 1 mile wide

Orange zone is about 2.5 miles wide

Green zone is about 4.5 miles wide

Found an aerial before/after, the towers dont look all that damaged but hard to tell. Probably just glass and wall/ceiling damage. Might have only injured/killed people facing the explosion.

At the bottom in the center of each image ^, those blue roofs are demolished just next door to the towers. Not sure what those are though:

WSJ Photos

Check out the steel containers all mangled:

Heres a shot from the Towers. Check out all the glass and rubble on the roof in the bottom of the pic. Anyone not taking cover got blasted with building shrapnel

Under the freeway just left of the blast :eek3: That shock wave was insane

Clock stopped at the exact time the big explosion happened. 11:40PM. Its been alomst 30 hours

Pluming smoke is seen through the hole of a damaged residential building near the site of the explosions:

Wheels melted:

This guy brings up some interesting points. Check out the CNN reporter at 2:05 trying to get the story outside the hospital and gets shut down by Chinese officials. Locals were threatened not to spread rumors online and thousands of posts were deleted from local forums. Beijing assured its residents that the chemicals would not come towards them but out to sea towards . . . Korea. Little over 400 miles away. My sisters family is in Seoul :wtc:

[youtube_browser]xHmy3mg2Euo[/youtube_browser]

Death toll at 56 as of 8/14/15 at 9a eastern time :bored: Probably more like 300+

Firefighter Rescued 31 Hours After Massive Explosions



Physicist describes what he sees. Says the big explosion was way more than 21 tons, more like 300 tons and over 2,000 degrees

[youtube_browser]_hcwMwFbJKc[/youtube_browser]

https://twitter.com/iChinadian/status/632031345166843904/photo/1

WeChat: 11 squads (400 men) died, all buildings within 1km area flattened. Soldier said 300 bodies removed. #Tianjin

https://twitter.com/iChinadian/status/632029457616797696/photo/1

15 firefighters sent to put out 2 burning tanks, 15 body-bags (one-way trip). #Tianjin #China #RIP

The Chinese government has issued the following directives to the country's media, according to China Digitial Times:
Cyberspace Administration of China: Standard sources must be used regarding the explosions in Tianjin’s Tanggu Open Economic Zone. Use only copy from Xinhua and authoritative departments and media. Websites cannot privately gather information on the accident, and when publishing news cannot add individual interpretation without authorization. Do not make live broadcasts.
Tianjin Propaganda Department: Editors and reporters for city TV stations, radio stations, newspapers, and new media work units, including announcers and anchors, must absolutely not privately post to Weibo or WeChat friend circles about the explosions.
Internet Propaganda Office of [Province Withheld]: Top Priority—Remove news and images from the explosions in Tianjin’s Tanggu Open Economic Zone from headlines and recommendations. Tidy up posts. Do not post articles that are not from Xinhua. If such articles have already been posted, please push them to the back of the stage.

Dangerous chemicals at Tianjin blast site were stored just 600 metres from residential complex

A residential complex badly damaged in the Tianjin explosions was located just 600 metres from a chemical storage warehouse at the centre of Wednesday’s blasts, contravening a 2001 government regulation to keep homes and chemical storage facilities apart.

Greenpeace said yesterday that rain forecast to fall on Friday could bring the chemicals in the atmosphere to earth and pollute the city’s waterways.

Video showing CNN reporter blocked by officials and forced off the hospital property:

https://twitter.com/CBSNLive/status/631986112257396736

In China right now, friend is reading through weixin (Wechat).
There was a weixin thread about how the government is covering up the death toll. The thread claims it's not possible that the death toll is around the tens, because there were many people who had lived near by/close to the port. This includes thousands and thousands of people that experienced the blast up close. The locals are trying to say that the government is hiding the death toll, and that the deaths are in the thousands. As soon as we refreshed the page, the weixin thread was deleted.
I was not able to take a picture of the thread, but that's what I got from the "locals".
This is just speculative, don't believe me for every word I say.

 

[CobraBob]

Wow, Jefe, you did some awesome investigative work. After reading/viewing what you posted, I am astonished by the magnitude of the blast. Blind blowing.