China - Huge, huge mystery explosion in Tianjin, Northern China, 12 Aug 2015

[zwiebel]

It was possibly one third of the size of the Hiroshima bomb. The irony of that, given the commemorations that have just taken place, is unbelievable.

Speculation of injuries 'in thousands' now.

http://coed.com/2015/08/12/tianjin-china-explosion-photos-facts-details-video/

 

[gngr~snap]

^^^^ thousands? Oh no!
Fox news is confirming some 400 taken to hospitals
ETA: Security camera footage of blast inside a building. ('_') whoa... Good media feed as well here...
@PzFeed

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[zwiebel]

According to this tweeter, Chinese State media say explosion caused a 2.9 earthquake. I'll try and verify this info with the US quake site.

https://mobile.twitter.com/hertzmau5

 

[zwiebel]

I'm panicking so much I forgot the initials of the US quake site.

 

[gngr~snap]

I'm panicking so much I forgot the initials of the US quake site.

NEIC? Or this?
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/

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[zwiebel]

NEIC? Or this?
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/

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That's it, but I can't get it to load. I've tried a few other quake sites but I can't make head or tail of them.

 

[gngr~snap]

Check out Matt Simon (@MSimonTV): https://twitter.com/MSimonTV?s=09
Buildings reported leveled? As far as 10km away.

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[zwiebel]

None of the 'latest earthquake' sites I checked are showing anything in China - latest one is showing in the Solomon Isles.

http://m.emsc.eu/earthquake/latest.php?min_mag=n/a&max_mag=n/a&date=n/a&euromed=World

 

[zwiebel]

Nearby apartment.

William Locke (@thelastnext) tweeted at 7:17pm - 12 Aug 15:

apartments close to the explosion spot in Tianjin Binhai New Area pic.twitter.com/ZHpeduPeax (https://twitter.com/thelastnext/status/631514796450430976?s=17)

 

[zwiebel]

Nice twitter user has linked access to a Chinese social media website.

ttps://mobile.twitter.com/GissiSim

Lots of photos and info (Chinese language) being posted there. The hospitals are swamped with injured, it looks like.

http://www.weibo.com/tjtientsin

 

[zwiebel]

Scene outside local hospital

【爆炸原因：集装箱内易燃易爆物品发生爆炸】天津消防消息，昨夜23:30左右，天津滨海新区第五大街与跃进路交叉口的一处集装箱码头发生爆炸，发生爆炸的是集装箱内的易燃易爆物品。@我是夜空中的月亮： 烧伤和外伤的，别往五中心挤，直接到东江医院来！烧伤科已准备好抢救！请相互转告！

 

[human]

I worry about this exact scenario in the US with our storage tanks.

This is what would happen hete as well

 

[zwiebel]

People waiting outside the hospital.

https://mobile.twitter.com/NewsThisSecond/status/631539722159042560/photos

 

[zwiebel]

I'm seeing rumors a school was destroyed. As it was dark when the explosion happened, hopefully it was closed for the night.

 

[zwiebel]

The blasts in China today took place in a warehouse area storing dangerous goods in Tianjin's Binhai development zone, state media reported.

Just 90 miles south-east of Beijing, the major port district of Tianjin is China's third largest city with a population of 15 million people.

The city hoped to become a 'mini Manhattan'.

Seeing some of the photos reminds me of 9/11.

http://www.itv.com/news/story/2015-08-12/hundreds-injured-in-massive-explosion-northern-china/

 

[gngr~snap]

"An official Chinese seismic agency said the force of the first explosion was equivalent to three tons of TNT, the second was 21 tons."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-33896292


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[zwiebel]

Hospitals are running out of blood.

http://www.weibo.com/tjtientsin#_rnd1439413375582

 

[zwiebel]

Lots of missing people also being reported elsewhere.

China Xinhua News (@XHNews) tweeted at 12 Aug 15:

7 people were confirmed dead, at least 180 injured in Tianjin warehouse blast pic.twitter.com/qBvfxGxHgi (https://twitter.com/XHNews/status/631568187893485568?s=17)

 

[SCHMAE]

Check out Matt Simon (@MSimonTV): https://twitter.com/MSimonTV?s=09
Buildings reported leveled? As far as 10km away.

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What? I'm no explosives expert but is there something else going on here? Would a ' routine' explosion at a shipping plant level buildings 10 km away? What the heck were they shipping?

 

[SCHMAE]

I'm seeing rumors a school was destroyed. As it was dark when the explosion happened, hopefully it was closed for the night.

Should be daylight there in 2 hours I think , right?