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Old 08-04-2020, 04:52 PM   #1
AlexB
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Huge explosion in Beirut

Apparently caused by customs storing 2750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate in the port, possibly next to a fireworks factory/storage area that was the first fire.

Other than historical footage of nuclear Bombs, never seen anything like this before, and it’s blown their port to bits, which is by far Lebanon’s main entry point for food & medicine.

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Old 08-04-2020, 05:02 PM   #2
QuikSand
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"fireworks" got it
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Old 08-04-2020, 05:03 PM   #3
NobodyHere
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Originally Posted by QuikSand View Post
"fireworks" got it

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Old 08-04-2020, 05:04 PM   #4
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Simply terrifying.
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Old 08-04-2020, 05:12 PM   #5
AlexB
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"fireworks" got it

One of the videos clearly shows what could well be fireworks going off before the entire building erupted in the huge explosion - all it needed was a spark.

Now how the fireworks (or similar) started, that’s a different question.
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Old 08-04-2020, 05:16 PM   #6
JonInMiddleGA
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I had trouble getting my head around the alleged cause until I saw something that gave me a frame of reference: Galveston Bay 1947

So, yeah, I do find it plausible.
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Old 08-04-2020, 05:22 PM   #7
GrantDawg
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That explosion was so powerful they are saying that no buildings are left with windows in most/all of the city.

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Old 08-04-2020, 05:33 PM   #8
GrantDawg
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Trump just claimed it was an attack.

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Old 08-04-2020, 05:50 PM   #9
kingfc22
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Originally Posted by QuikSand View Post
"fireworks" got it

Clearly there was a fire that led up to this explosion.

http://twitter.com/Motinsitepegas/st...81061648207872

I haven’t seen nor have I admittedly searched for other videos as of yet.
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Old 08-04-2020, 05:52 PM   #10
PilotMan
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Trump just claimed it was an attack.

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tbf, he said it 'looks' like a terrible attack.
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Old 08-04-2020, 06:02 PM   #11
BishopMVP
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The West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion in 05/06 is another frame of reference. (That thankfully killed a lot fewer people.)

Fireworks stored next to tons of nitrate in a heavily populated area does seem like a pretty big oversight, but horrible accident does seem more likely than attack considering you can see all the small explosions prior to the big one in so many videos. (Seriously, how are there *this many* videos from people clearly within the blast radius? If we're allowed to laugh at jokes I saw someone say it's nice to know our phones can survive 4 megaton blasts and sound waves but not a 3 foot drop off the counter.)

Last edited by BishopMVP : 08-04-2020 at 06:02 PM.
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Old 08-04-2020, 06:04 PM   #12
whomario
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No way the number of dead won't be much higher when it's all accounted for. Saving grace might be it being more an Office district and after 6 pm but that's just way to dense an area for current numbers to hold up ... (Heck, apparently a lot of unrelated patients in hospitals also died as the fucking power went out) 2020 everybody ...

Also destroyed food stores along with the absolutely vital harbour and also commercial areas surrounding it ...


Quote:
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tbf, he said it 'looks' like a terrible attack.

The inflection seemed clear he thinks it is one and the "looks" was less "it looks like an attack" than "it looked terrible". He also added this:

Quote:
"I met with some of our great generals and they just seem to feel that it was," the president said. "This was not some kind of a manufacturing explosion type of event. This was a – seems to be, according to them, they would know better than I would – but they seem to think it was an attack. It was a bomb of some kind, yes."

Which might well mean one guy out of 5 mentioned it as a mere possibility and he's running with it, knowing his track record with picking a narrative.
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Last edited by whomario : 08-04-2020 at 06:21 PM.
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Old 08-05-2020, 08:31 AM   #13
bob
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Terrifying video from a guy driving his car while filming the Beirut explosion

https://twitter.com/RexChapman/statu...69713539305474
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Old 08-06-2020, 06:05 AM   #14
GrantDawg
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They now estimate the power of the blast at 1.5 kilotons. Just for refence, the largest conventional bomb hits at 11 tons.
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Old 08-06-2020, 08:35 AM   #15
CU Tiger
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I read something last night that compared it to the OKC bombing.
Essentially the same substrate, albeit packaged and organized in OKC.
OKC was estimated at 1,250lbs and this was just north of 6,000,000 lbs...

Just in those terms is eye opening.
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Old 08-06-2020, 09:51 AM   #16
Kodos
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It really did look like a small nuclear bomb had been detonated.
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Old 08-06-2020, 10:01 AM   #17
PilotMan
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Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA View Post
I had trouble getting my head around the alleged cause until I saw something that gave me a frame of reference: Galveston Bay 1947

So, yeah, I do find it plausible.

I read about this yesterday. Both fascinating and terrifying. Incredible that it's something I had never, ever heard about before.
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Last edited by PilotMan : 08-06-2020 at 03:54 PM.
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Old 08-06-2020, 03:40 PM   #18
cuervo72
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Yep, good call.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/histo...rut-hiroshima/
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Old 08-07-2020, 03:06 AM   #19
whomario
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The Before/After pictures are pretty shocking ...


Beirut explosion: satellite images before and after the blast | World news | The Guardian
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Old 09-10-2020, 05:53 PM   #20
GrantDawg
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Major fire in the port today. It starts to make you wonder if they don't have someone/group starting these.

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Old 09-10-2020, 06:11 PM   #21
whomario
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Major fire in the port today. It starts to make you wonder if they don't have someone/group starting these.

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"Trouble breeds trouble" is just as good an explanation. There's likely a shitton of makeshift fixes to wiring etc.
I don't think we can remotely imagine the pressures and limitations in place in keeping afloat what is essentially the citys lifeline.
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Old 09-11-2020, 10:16 AM   #22
Vince, Pt. II
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I was reading an article somewhere - The Economist, maybe? - about how the entire Lebanese economy was already in a precarious state before the port was shut down. Unrest/rioting/general non-organized chaos is probably just as likely a culprit as something more nefarious.
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Old 09-11-2020, 11:56 AM   #23
Warhammer
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I was reading an article somewhere - The Economist, maybe? - about how the entire Lebanese economy was already in a precarious state before the port was shut down. Unrest/rioting/general non-organized chaos is probably just as likely a culprit as something more nefarious.

I saw something recently saying exactly this. Ever since the port blew, there has been unrest due to the government not doing anything about it. The government was already unpopular before as well.
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