What blew up in Texas?
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What blew up in Texas?
Sixty-six years almost to the day after the Texas City disaster – April 17, 2013 – an ammonium nitrate fertilizer explosion devastated another Texas town. Fifteen people died and hundreds were hurt when a fire inside the West, Texas, fertilizer plant near Waco ignited the chemical.
What caused explosion in West Texas?
The fire caused ammonium nitrate to ignite, triggering the blast that registered as a 2.1 magnitude tremor that was detected on seismographs as far away as Hockley, 142 miles away.
What year was Texas City disaster?
April 16, 1947Texas City disaster / Start date
On the morning of April 16, 1947, a fire started on the SS Grandcamp, a cargo ship docked in the Port of Texas City, igniting 2,300 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate fertilizer in its hold. The resulting explosion leveled the dock and surrounding industrial area and ignited two more explosions.
What was the fertilizer explosion?
At high temperatures, ammonium nitrate can create toxic nitrogen oxide and ammonia and can cause an explosion. It is the chemical compound behind the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion and a 2013 blast at a fertilizer plant in Texas that killed 14 people and injured nearly 200 others.
How long did the West Texas fertilizer explosion last?
Fifteen people were killed, more than 160 were injured, and more than 150 buildings were damaged or destroyed….West Fertilizer Company explosion.
| Explosion site several days after the event | |
|---|---|
| Date | April 17, 2013 |
| Deaths | 15 |
| Non-fatal injuries | Approximately 160–200 |
How many firefighters died in the West explosion?
On April 17, 2013, ten emergency first responders (ranging in age from 26 to 52 and all male) were killed when a burning fertilizer plant containing an estimated 40 to 60 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded just outside the city limits.
What is the biggest explosion in Texas?
Texas City explosion of 1947
Texas City explosion of 1947, industrial disaster sparked by the fire and explosion of the SS Grandcamp on April 16–17, 1947, in Texas City, Texas. The blast set off a chain of fires as well as a 15-foot (4.5-metre) tidal wave. Between 400 and 600 people were killed, with as many as 4,000 injured.
How many miles is a nuke?
DON’T: Stare directly at the blast. A 1-megaton bomb (that’s about 80 times larger than the “Little Boy” atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan) could temporarily blind people up to 13 miles away on a clear day, and up to 53 miles away on a clear night.
How did the fertilizer plant fire start?
At around 7 p.m., she recalled, “there was a loud shaking explosion, boom, and immediately my mind thought when I heard it — fertilizer plant.” The blaze started at a loading dock, she said, according to preliminary information.
How big was the explosion in West Texas?
At 7:50:38 p.m. CDT (00:50 UTC, April 18), as firefighters were attempting to douse the flames, it exploded with the force of 7.5-10 tons of TNT. The explosion created a 93-foot-wide (28 m) crater where the site of the fertilizer plant had previously been, and resulted in 15 deaths and numerous injuries.
How did the Texas City disaster happen?
On the morning of April 16, 1947, a fire started on the SS Grandcamp, a cargo ship docked in the Port of Texas City, igniting 2,300 tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate fertilizer in its hold. The resulting explosion leveled the dock and surrounding industrial area and ignited two more explosions.
How big was the Texas fertilizer plant explosion?
93 feet wide
The explosion left a crater 93 feet wide and 10 feet deep. Ten of the 15 people killed were volunteer firefighters and other emergency workers; more than 260 others were injured. Of the town’s 700 homes, about 350 were affected, including 193 that were destroyed or severely damaged.
