
Satellite images of the Beirut explosion site – before and after - huhtenberg
https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/juxtapose/latest/embed/index.html?uid=59321100-d740-11ea-bf88-a15b6c7adf9a
======
valuearb
Very slick method for comparing two images, but maybe the UX is a little
obscure. I have to admit I thought it was two images side by side, and
wondered why they were different proportions, until I noticed the handle.

The explosion is of course very similar to the 1947 Port Texas disaster (581
dead) But it also reminded me of the Halifax explosion of 1917 (2,000 dead).

In Halifax, the train dispatcher on the pier stayed at his post to send one
last message to keep the next passenger train from entering town.

“Hold up the train. Ammunition ship afire in harbor making for Pier 6 and will
explode. Guess this will be my last message. Good-bye boys”

~~~
whatisthiseven
A little obscure? I have seen this same image comparison ux many times before
And it was instantly recognizable.

I would improve it for new users by having a little animation after load that
"wiggles" the handle a bit to get the user's attention.

~~~
jehlakj
Please. No animations. Just provide a tooltip suggests it can be dragged and
clear it on drag. Or something subtle like that.

~~~
pc86
Some people like animations. Some people like tooltips. Some people like
figuring out the UI without instruction.

Different people prefer different things and there is no objective right
answer.

~~~
andybak
> there is no objective right answer.

If we're talking about UI/UX then there kinda is.

It's the UI that the largest proportion of your target audience would find
intuitive if they tried it.

So it's not the lack of an objective answer that's the problem, it's the
difficulty of finding a proxy for your target audience and a testing process
you can afford.

Sometimes the proxy is "you" and the testing is "your experience and
intuition" and sometimes the proxy is a statistically significant number of
formal user tests.

------
mysterypie
The source of the explosion is easy to identify by comparing it to these two
videos[1][2]. You can see that a crescent-shaped area of the pier gets
obliterated creating a water-filled crater in front of the silo (the building
with 16 tall cylinders in a row). What's fascinating is that the flat
buildings on the _other side_ of the silo are obliterated as well. From the
two videos below, it looks like the shockwave wraps around the silo and
destroys stuff on the far side.

[1] [https://streamable.com/zg9oal](https://streamable.com/zg9oal)

[2] [https://streamable.com/zykkj6](https://streamable.com/zykkj6)

~~~
melonkidney
Seems like the silo acted as a lens for the shockwave.

Related video from Steve Mould where he demonstrates this with a balloon and
sound waves:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLBmWF9Xo10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLBmWF9Xo10)

[Edit: added correct link]

~~~
re
[edit: parent comment has been fixed]

~~~
melonkidney
You're absolutely right, thanks. The joys of sharing via mobile...

------
Someone
Reading
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_nitrate_disaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_nitrate_disaster)
reminds me of how security-unconscious we used to be.

July 1921: “workers tried to dislodge 30 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had
aggregated (solidified into one mass) in two wagons. When mining explosives
were used on this solid mass the wagons exploded”

September 1921: “Another attempt at disaggregation of a fertilizer mix with
industrial explosives caused the death of 561 people”

April, 1942: “An attempt to disaggregate a pile of 150 tonnes of ammonium
nitrate with industrial explosives killed 189 people“

Three different locations, but one would think they would have heard of those
earlier blasts.

~~~
userbinator
News traveled much slower back then.

~~~
Someone
It took 3 days for the result of the battle of Waterloo to reach London, but
that was 1815.

In 1912, Titanic had a radio telegraph, as did 3 ships that responded to its
distress calls.

In 1916 Shackleton’s polar expedition had a radio on Antarctica.

I think this might have been important enough to make the news, and be
communicated to those working with tons of this stuff.

------
supernova87a
The ship on its side to the north of the blast -- I wonder what kind of damage
was able to cause that? (i.e. the ship not be able to roll back upright?
Seeing footage elsewhere, rolling even to the point of ~45-60 deg is not fatal
to an oceangoing container ship)

Windows blown out, then force of the overpressure rolling it on its side, then
filling with water? Or unsecured load (being in port) shifting and sinking?

Separately, about the chemicals -- at some point, over 6 years, doesn't
someone just say, I'm moving this life threatening shit out of here, go ahead
and arrest me? After the Tianjin disaster, wouldn't someone have thought of
that, you would think?

~~~
walrus01
Never underestimate the power of bureaucratic paralysis... From all news
reports it's looking like the persons responsible for the port repeatedly
pleaded with the Lebanese court authorities to get it out of there, and
nothing was ever done.

I honestly have no idea how admiralty law works in a Lebanese legal context.
In the US or Canada if a ship is abandoned in port there's well defined legal
mechanisms for the port authority to seize it and its cargo for unpaid fuel
and moorage fees, and summon the owners to court to defend their asset.

~~~
recuter
The owner is a Russian Cypriot who abdicated responsibility. They weren't able
to locate him.

Four crew members of the vessel got stranded onboard for a whole year while
the issue was being resolved. They were not allowed to disembark nor return
home.

Afterwards this stuff was improperly stored in a warehouse for six years.
There's lots of corruption and incompetence at every stage of this.

The twist not in the news is the alternative uses this substance has and what
else was incompetently stored in the vicinity. It really isn't a big mystery
why so many tons of it were left for such a long time in that port.

~~~
throwanem
If it's not a big mystery, why so coy about saying whatever it is you seem to
mean?

~~~
saagarjha
Either fertilizer or explosives?

~~~
fit2rule
I think the subtext is that it was stored in case it needed to be used for
explosives.

Just think of all the gardens that could have grown instead.

------
lhoff
Seeing Videos from the blast yesterday left me speechless. This picture showes
the destruction even better.

Seeing pictures like the ones im that tweet gives me hope:
[https://twitter.com/Nadia_Hardman/status/1291044300923510784...](https://twitter.com/Nadia_Hardman/status/1291044300923510784?s=19)

------
throw0101a
CNN has more before/after images from Plant Labs:

* [https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/world/satellite-images-beirut...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/05/world/satellite-images-beirut-explosion-before-after-trnd/index.html)

Non-governmental access to near-real time satellite imagery is really
interesting.

------
lordnacho
Maybe someone who knows about how shipping works can explain why they thought
it was a good idea to keep a huge amount of ammonium nitrate in the port? Why
not keep the ship offshore somewhere, or in some harbour that isn't in a
metropolis?

~~~
colinmhayes
I think the ammonium nitrate was confiscated and customs put it in a warehouse
thinking it would be moved asap. But then no one moved it.

~~~
jcims
Typically ammonium nitrate needs some type of fuel to detonate. In the Texas
City explosion there was ample hydrocarbons in direct contact with the AN to
support the reaction. I’m curious if there is any speculation what provided
the fuel in this case. Maybe they were coated prills?

~~~
jandrewrogers
Ammonium nitrate does not require fuel to detonate. Even if you add heavy
diesel, you will still be need to use the same boosters (usually PETN) that
you would use for pure ammonium nitrate to achieve reliable detonation.
Ammonium nitrate has a positive stoichiometric oxygen balance when it
detonates so it is typically mixed with chemicals with a negative oxygen
balance (such as heavy diesel) to inexpensively improve explosive performance.
It has nothing to do with making it detonate.

While ammonium nitrate is quite difficult to detonate at room temperature, it
becomes considerably less stable as it approaches its melting point, which is
relatively low. Sensitivity can also be increased chemically but that requires
significant effort and intent.

~~~
jcims
Wow, for some reason I always thought if it as a pure oxidizer (obviously not
a chemistry expert here) and had no idea that it could detonate on its own.
Great info, thank you!!!

~~~
cricalix
The US CSB video[0] on the incident at West, Texas is worth watching. Every
video they do is worth watching to understand how processes can fail.

0: [https://www.csb.gov/videos/dangerously-close-explosion-in-
we...](https://www.csb.gov/videos/dangerously-close-explosion-in-west-texas/)

~~~
ekimekim
Their website was itermittently 500ing for me, but the video was just embedded
from youtube anyway so here's a direct link:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdDuHxwD5R4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdDuHxwD5R4)

------
MontagFTB
It’s interesting to note how much the grain silos changed the shape of the
blast. The damage behind the silos is almost immediately reduced, even in this
set of images.

~~~
jansan
And it's amazing that parts of the silo are still standing considering how
close it was to the explosion's epicenter.

~~~
crocal
Grain silos are actually built to withstand explosions. I am not an expert but
I was explained as a kid that stored grain can create static electricity
discharges that can result in self-ignition.

~~~
jansan
Wow, after reading your comment I started digging a bit and found this video
from 2014. Those small explosions in the grain elevator look very similar to
the explosions that happened before the big one in Beirut:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDLkMDJXl_0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDLkMDJXl_0)

And a few more grain silo explosions:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=794raoRHCzs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=794raoRHCzs)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFc-
JoJSJr0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFc-JoJSJr0)

[https://www.kplctv.com/story/38545088/video-captures-
moments...](https://www.kplctv.com/story/38545088/video-captures-moments-
after-grain-silo-explosion/)

Man, those things just love to explode. I didn't know that.

------
ars
I'm actually surprised at how many buildings seem structurally basically still
standing.

Especially the granaries right next to the epicenter.

Is it really that easy to build a building that can handle explosions like
this?

~~~
lhoff
I read somewhere that the way the harbour and the storage buildings where
structured(probably not intentionally) directed a big part oft the blast
downwards, hence the crater. Matches the Videos i've seen were the explosion
was sharply going into the sky. Only the shockwave was horizontal.

~~~
walrus01
Purely from a physics/explosives effectiveness standpoint, the destruction
would have been much greater if it had occurred at 200-300m above ground
level. This is one of the reasons why air drop freefall nuclear bombs (10-20
kiloton class) were designed with radar fuses to explode at a certain height
above the target, and not at ground level. Except when intended to destroy a
bunker.

Because the explosion occurred at ground level at least _some_ of its energy
was directed into excavating a crater and not destructive shockwave traveling
outwards.

~~~
valuearb
Also, IIRC air burst nuclear weapons produce less fallout.

~~~
jabl
For nuclear war planners, fallout is probably a feature.

~~~
dragontamer
Two kinds of nuke classes:

1\. Strategic -- The world is going to die nukes. These are big nukes on
ICBMs. If the opponent launches a strategic nuke, you launch all of yours and
kill them too.

2\. Tactical -- Small nukes that you shoot at the opponent's army before
sending in your troops.

You're thinking of strategic nukes. But strategic nukes are far weaker if you
have a dirty explosion: its probably better to have a more complete bomb.
Tactical nukes absolutely must be clean, because your own troops are in the
area.

~~~
jabl
Strategic nukes are typically fission-fusion-fission devices with both more
yield and more fallout than a cleaner fission-fusion design of the same
weight.

------
anonu
Lebanon and the Lebanese are like the Phoenix... They will rise again. The
story here is one of incompetence and corruption beyond comprehension. It's
the culmination of years of angst amongst the population. I hope this is a
turning point for a city that was once the Paris of the middle East.

~~~
ArkVark
Lebanon is increasingly a Muslim country - many of the Christians have left.

In 1932 51% of the population was Christian, in 2017 only 40%:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Lebanon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Lebanon)

Lebanon also has problems with cousin marriage - leading to lower IQ and birth
defects in the next generation. 17% of Lebanese Christians and 30% of Lebanese
Muslims marry their first cousins.

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

------
yingw787
I donated some amount of money to this fund:
[https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lebanon-
relief](https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lebanon-relief)

Hope it ends up helping those in need.

------
johlindenbaum
Reminds me of the Halifax explosion 100 years ago.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion)

------
supernova87a
Everything with a thin metal sheet roof = shredded like paper.

------
walrus01
The two smaller ships that are moored directly next to the warehouse... I
wonder if they were there at the time of the explosion and are now in tiny
steel shards scattered over a several km area, or if those moorage locations
were vacant at the time.

~~~
nradov
The Orient Queen cruise ship was sunk by the blast with several people killed.

[https://gcaptain.com/beirut-blast-two-killed-on-orient-
queen...](https://gcaptain.com/beirut-blast-two-killed-on-orient-queen-cruise-
ship-docked-near-explosion-ship-sinks/)

------
bryanrasmussen
Where does the ship all the way on the left in the after picture come from?
I'm assuming it was moved there from somewhere, but if so it looks to me like
there is an extra ship. (this isn't a paranoia thing I have difficulties
understanding spatial relations so I assume all the ships were moved from
various places by explosion but I just can't follow it)

~~~
szarapka
Photos are almost a month apart.

~~~
bryanrasmussen
ah I see I didn't notice the date above, I was scrolled down a bit :(

------
jgwil2
Interesting that most of the visible damage seems to be confined to the area
west of the highway irrespective of distance from the epicenter - is that just
because warehouses are constructed differently to the commercial/residential
buildings of the downtown area?

------
kanobo
So sad and devastating for those nearby, I hope lessons were learned and
future occurrences prevented.

------
DenisM
> Lebanon's prime minister said an investigation would focus on an estimated
> 2,750 metric tons of the explosive ammonium nitrate stored at a warehouse.

> A security source said the explosive power of the stored ammonium nitrate
> was equivalent to at least 1,200 tonnes of TNT

So we are basically looking at a 1kt nuke blast (minus the heat and fallout).
Hiroshima nuke, for scale, was at 13–18kt.

~~~
pavlov
And that's minuscule compared to the active arsenal held by United States and
Russia. Their weapons are in the 400-1200kt range, and both nations have
thousands of them.

Imagine several million of the Beirut explosions happening simultaneously in
densely populated cities, and look at the men who hold the launch codes for
these weapons.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists maintains a "Doomsday Clock" which is
currently closer than ever to midnight — and they started in 1947.

~~~
walrus01
I thought a number of "modern" MIRV warheads were intentionally designed
smaller in the 50 to 125 kiloton class.

~~~
jabl
The W76 used by the US and UK submarines is 90-100 kT. Most other US warheads
are 300-475 kT (W78, W87, W88).

There's apparently a small number of 5-7 kT "W76 mod 2" warheads as well.

Russian warheads tend to be bigger, around 500-1000 kT, presumably to
compensate for poorer accuracy.

------
iandanforth
How is the tall building right next to the blast still standing?

~~~
tomohawk
Those are grain silos, which are incredibly strong structures.

You can see an image of the damage done to the silos here:

[https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/up-
to-300000-...](https://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/up-
to-300000-left-homeless-by-beirut-blast-governor)

~~~
keenmaster
Lebanon's economy is in the gutter, so they really needed that grain...what a
sad situation.

~~~
pfdietz
It looks like they may be able to save at least some of it.

~~~
keenmaster
Would you eat that stuff? It might have a little fertilizer in it. Maybe more
than the FDA limits.

------
comprev
That UX with a slider bar is popular on the BBC website.

------
fnord77
pretty easy to tell ground-zero from the big crater

------
leeoniya
does anyone know how long the fire was going before the initial explosions?
like, how much time did people have to evacuate?

------
op03
Which building is the root of the blast? I can't tell. Looks like everything
got leveled.

~~~
eatingCake
You'll notice one area that went from above sea level to below sea level.

------
consultutah
My god! It made the buildings all lean the other way! /endsarcasm

~~~
mar77i
Took me a second to realize what that was.

Also thought the main street nearby went to a sag. Glad it was just optics.

~~~
consultutah
Totally worth the downvotes ;)

------
dragosmocrii
That space where there's a hole in the port is probably where the explosion
happened. Also looks like the two ships nearby got vaporized. Frightening
sight

~~~
sbergjohansen
Note that the before/after images were taken two months apart.

------
guykdm
It's reasonable that they avoided auctioning the massive amounts of ammonium
nitrate because it's useful for bombs (Hezbollah being the strongest force in
the government). If that's the case, as the would be target of these bombs,
I'm happy it blew up. I'm very sorry for innocent lives lost and for Lebanon
in general. I wish they would wise up and join Israel in making the region
livable.

~~~
farseer
Glad to know the explosion pleased you. Israel is too busy plotting land
siezures to make the region livable.

~~~
guykdm
I said something more nuanced, but It's very natural not to want to be bombed.
Israel is mostly busy being a normal livable country for all it's residents.
unlike its neighbors.

------
aaomidi
Meanwhile Reddit decided that today would be a good day to make
/r/ShockwavePorn a trending subreddit.

What would've their response been if this happened in a European country?
Using the pain of thousands of people to push a "cool" subreddit is just bad
taste.

~~~
zzzzzzzza
probably an algo making that decision

~~~
aaomidi
Nope, there has been multiple confirmations that reddit admins run the algo
and curate which ones to make trending.

It's how reddit stops obvious hate subreddits from hitting the trending page.

