Beruit...wtf?

[ötzi]

98765

Well it's just fertilizer. Until it's not.

[ötzi]

~⅓ the size of the Halifax Harbor explosion.

[glademaster]

I came here for a discussion about a drinking game, and all I see is explosion bullshit. WTF indeed.

[Buke]

I was shopping in the Hamra neighborhood of Beirut on June 13th 2007, about 1km away from the car bomb that killed Walid Eido, an anti-Syrian MP. That car bomb had about 80kg of explosives and the destruction was significant. I can't fathom what 2750 tonnes of explosives would be like. I've been to Beirut twice and I still consider it one of my favorite cities on earth. The whole thing is heartbreaking.

[ötzi]

Oklahoma City bombing was 2 tons of ammonium nitrate. 2750 is a lot more.

[muted]

I've been to Beirut twice and I still consider it one of my favorite cities on earth.

Why? Always curious on peoples favorite places.

[Mazderati]

Some extended family recently spent several years working in Beirut. Covfefe brought her back at the beginning of the year. One of her friends who is still over there sent a video of the street she lived on. 10 and 15 story buildings leveled.

[Jay P]

insane

https://twitter.com/BBCArabic/status...71289939075073

https://twitter.com/RioMoussallem/st...41792137248774

[Buke]

Why? Always curious on peoples favorite places.

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.

[Toadman]

Per The Stable Genius, it was an attack.

[Thaleia]

So in other words, it was completely something not related to an attack.

[MakersTeleMark]

It was a flame invasion.

[riser4]

It was a flame invasion.

Build a wall!

[Cono Este]

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


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[Norseman]

[ötzi]

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

probably need to work around the paywall but very good overview

[This End Up]

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.

[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?

[muted]

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.

Well, I'm sold. Thanks.

[Toadman]

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?

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

[TNKen]

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.

[MagnificentUnicorn]

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?

I doubt it was anfo, just ammonia nitrate.


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[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

[bennymac]

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


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

[Dantheman]

Supposedly upped the power by about 10 fold.

I'm calling bullshit on this.