How powerful was the Beirut blast?

dawn.com

5 pointsm3h2 comments

They don't mention the 1947 Texas City fertilizer and oil explosion on that graphic. Maybe because it was a series of explosions?

It was really big though.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2H_ZNzTrCM

My favorite factoid about the 1947 Texas City explosions is the 3,000 pound boat anchor that was found a mile and a half from the port. Pictures, video and good explanation here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_City_disaster

FTFA: "The explosion blew the almost 6,350 short tons (5,760 metric tons) of the ship's steel into the air, some at supersonic speed."

Reply on news.ycombinator.com