
An explosion in Tianjin, China [video] - djyde
http://video.weibo.com/show?fid=1034:f2df4e43a94dc5caa90960ecf2b89c44
======
MaxScheiber
Watching the videos on the CCTV America link reminded me of some basic (but
apparently necessary) safety advice. If you're ever in a situation like this,
don't stand by a window filming it! You only have seconds until the blast
breaks yours windows (depending on your distance from the epicenter and the
explosion strength). From what I understand, the biggest immediate danger is
lacerations from flying glass.

Get away from the windows and duck behind something solid.

~~~
dx211
The shockwave took about seven seconds to arrive, so they were about 1.5 miles
away from the blast. It's not intuitive that the explosion can harm you at a
distance like that -- as evidenced in more than one amateur video that came
out of Iraq of EOD work.

~~~
MaxScheiber
I agree, which is why it's especially necessary advice. Your gut instinct upon
seeing that blindingly bright flash should be to duck and cover, whether
you're outdoors or indoors.

I wish this didn't have to be so important, since it feels like a Cold War
relic, but that's just how things seem to be these days.

~~~
hga
During the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor kaboom, one 4th grade teacher remembered
her Russian "Duck and Cover" lessons and her 44 charges avoided injury:
[http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/world/europe/russians-
seek...](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/world/europe/russians-seek-clues-
and-count-blessings-after-meteor-blast.html?_r=1&)

By no means a "Cold War relic".

~~~
mikeash
"Duck and cover" is a popular target for ridicule, which is weird because it's
always been excellent advice, even for global thermonuclear war. The fact that
it's good for more conventional explosions lends further emphasis to that
fact.

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DarkTree
I know it can be pointless to compare circumstances. You can always find
someone worse in your situation.

I just read the (currently highest ranked) article about the failed Woolfe
game, and reflected on how bad it must suck to put your heart, soul, and life
into something only for it to fail. This sucks.

But, then I came across this post, and it again makes me reevaluate what truly
does, suck. Failing sucks, it really does, and it might feel like death, but
ultimately, it's not, and real, physical tragedies always remind us that there
are truly reasons to keep living each day with passion, even with the eyes of
failure glaring at us.

I hope everyone is ok.

~~~
nickls
I really appreciated this comment. It puts (personal/startup) tragedies in
perspective.

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jimrandomh
I have no information beyond what's in the links here, and general safety-
consciousness. From the cctv-america.com link:

> People standing outside of their buildings. Some have reported chemical gas
> leaks.

To anyone who lives in the area, I would suggest putting as many miles between
yourself and the site of the explosion as you can, and also trying to stay
upwind. Breathe through a particulate filter if you have one, and until
there's more information, assume that any unidentified chemical smell is very
bad for you. If you aren't actively moving and aren't an emergency responder,
you definitely shouldn't be standing outside; stay indoors with windows shut,
preferably in an upper floor. If you can, avoid the local tap water for a few
days.

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mzs
[http://us.sinaimg.cn/000wGOwWjx06UAlFMAzd01040100tS4x0k01.mp...](http://us.sinaimg.cn/000wGOwWjx06UAlFMAzd01040100tS4x0k01.mp4)

ISO Media, MP4 Base Media v1 [IS0 14496-12:2003]

~~~
i336_
I came here to mention the URL too.

I have a downloaded copy as well if anyone needs it.

The file sha256 is
b74a269131bd54a4b1ada41e28e3e14ace80e770693fa3c328b26073ea9a6e06. (I would
never have thought to mention the video type, kudos.)

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punnerud
Close footage with replay
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbPTKlHrX3w](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbPTKlHrX3w)

~~~
dopamean
Seeing as the footage made its way onto youtube I'm going to assume the
videographer is ok. Fingers crossed.

~~~
willeponken
What I've heard, no. That video was (probably) from a live stream.

~~~
chinpokomon
Which is also probably why the video stops before the debris reaches the
operator. The footage being buffered was lost when the shock wave hit. That
was a massive explosion and tonight we'll see the true extent of the damage.

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aaronpk
More info: [http://www.cctv-america.com/2015/08/12/explosion-reported-
in...](http://www.cctv-america.com/2015/08/12/explosion-reported-in-tianjin-
china)

------
thinkdevcode
This is why you stay away from doors and windows during a possible explosion:

[https://twitter.com/OrRavid/status/631538952747380736](https://twitter.com/OrRavid/status/631538952747380736)

~~~
tomp
How do you know when an explosion is possible?

~~~
mikeash
I don't know that it really applies to this video, but there are other videos
out there of people recording video while looking at the window at the
explosion, where they're far enough away to have a few seconds' warning before
the shock wave hits.

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terminado

      Chinese city of Tianjin reported an explosion at 
      the dock at the Tianjin Binhai New Development 
      Zone around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday local time.
    

Man, what the hell was on that boat? Seems like maybe it a B.L.E.V.E. (boiling
liquid expanding vapor explosion).

~~~
fraserharris
My dad was the first mate on deep-sea freighters operating between Oakland and
SE Asia. Once they transported munitions from the Concord Naval Weapons
Station, located at the mouth of the Sacremento River, to a US ally in Asia.
Their route through San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Strait all the way
out to blue waters was cleared of all ships an hour prior to their departure.
Transporting munitions is a very dangerous activity.

~~~
khuey
Did they clear the Golden Gate Bridge?

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AdmiralAsshat
Suggestion for title in case English is not the submitter's first language: "A
terrible explosion just _happened_ in Tainjin, China."

EDIT: Oh gee, I am so sorry I non-forcefully suggested a grammar fix in the
title so that people would not harp on it. The proper response for my
constructive criticism is more downvoting.

~~~
carlosgg
Yeah, I also think correctly conjugating the verb is what really matters. :-|

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vlunkr
Here's a few details: [http://www.cctv-america.com/2015/08/12/explosion-
reported-in...](http://www.cctv-america.com/2015/08/12/explosion-reported-in-
tianjin-china)

------
carlosgg
A photo of an apartment close to the explosion:

[https://twitter.com/thelastnext/status/631514796450430976](https://twitter.com/thelastnext/status/631514796450430976)

~~~
aw3c2
And the click-bait media vultures are already hacking into it, despicable.
[http://i.imgur.com/MROUpJ6.jpg](http://i.imgur.com/MROUpJ6.jpg)

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sandworm101
Does this in any way compare to the halifax explosion? Maybe a new record for
accidental explosions?

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion)

~~~
mannykannot
I certainly hope not. There were 2000 fatalities in Halifax.

~~~
huxley
The Halifax Explosion was during working hours and near one of the most
populated parts of Halifax which contributed to the large number of deaths.

The Mont Blanc carried 3121 tons of picric acid, 200 tons of trinitrotoluene,
35 tons of benzol and 10 tons of gun cotton.

12 ophthalmologists treated 592 people with eye injuries and performed 249
enucleations.

British Journal of Ophthalmology had a journal article about the medical
treatments that were needed at the Halifax Explosion:

[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1955605/](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1955605/)

~~~
sandworm101
I wonder if the different types of glass we use today would reduce that
number.

My new word for the day is "enucleation". For the love dogs do not look that
one up on youtube.

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abc_lisper
It is a bad idea to stay near glass windows during an explosion. Don't do it
kids.

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fapjacks
This reminds me very much of watching FOB Falcon burn for six hours one night
in Iraq. Lucky mortar strike hit the ammo dump. It was like this video all
night.

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dogma1138
Well apparently it was captured by an IR weather sat...

[https://twitter.com/RussellDengel/status/631523783874998272/...](https://twitter.com/RussellDengel/status/631523783874998272/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

[http://realearth.ssec.wisc.edu/?products=HIMAWARI-B07.72&cen...](http://realearth.ssec.wisc.edu/?products=HIMAWARI-B07.72&center=39.02396086622223,-242.2094096210937&zoom=9&width=973&height=652&timerange=2015-08-12%2016:40:00,2015-08-12%2016:40:00&timestep=900s)

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comrh
via reddit: It was picked up on the Japanese Himawari 8 weather satellite

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfgS3C7PblA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfgS3C7PblA)

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guoqiang2
More pic/videos from live search from weibo.com :
[http://weibo.com/p/1008087bef7c8c2cd3e28667d7cbf6ed9a7c4b](http://weibo.com/p/1008087bef7c8c2cd3e28667d7cbf6ed9a7c4b)

[http://s.weibo.com/weibo/%20%E5%A4%A9%E6%B4%A5%E5%A1%98%E6%B...](http://s.weibo.com/weibo/%20%E5%A4%A9%E6%B4%A5%E5%A1%98%E6%B2%BD%E5%A4%A7%E7%88%86%E7%82%B8)

People injured and hospitals around are full of patients...

~~~
i336_
The first link currently redirects to a login page, FYI. The second one is
okay.

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miesman
Someone else said there's a LPG terminal in the area. Just a guess but it
looks like:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_liquid_expanding_vapor...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_liquid_expanding_vapor_explosion)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI0qU4EZbS8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI0qU4EZbS8)

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jostmey
Looks like there was an initial fire followed by a much larger explosion. My
guess is that there was an accident at a major power/refinery plant.

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subhrm
Seems like a powerful blast . Is thee any oil refinery or power plant nearby ?

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daimajia
The explosion video:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G89GrcvbMEo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G89GrcvbMEo)

Hope everything will be ok.

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daw___
YouTube video: [https://youtu.be/zEberOX33_Y](https://youtu.be/zEberOX33_Y)

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comrh
Jesus, that is massive. I hope people are safe.

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Thaxll
Probably a chemical warehouse?

~~~
billconan
a chinese news says it was a gas station...

~~~
mzs
I saw video of one go up in Brazil, gas stations don't go kaboom to that
extent at all. That is early reporting that is full of errors.

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ChrisArchitect
Begun, the Currency War has.

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Involute
That's some Michael Bay shit right there. Transformers 8 shooting nearby?

