The massive explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital yesterday has left at least 135 people dead and more than 5,000 wounded. Upwards of 300,000 people are now homeless because of the blast. Lebanese officials are still searching the rubble for victims and survivors.
The blast is being blamed on 2750 tons of ammonium nitrate fertilizer. It appears that what would have been a “normal” fire at the port caused the ammonium nitrate to cook off. In some of the footage of the explosion you can see flashes of what look like fireworks going off, which was an early explanation of the blast.
Ammonium nitrate is an industrial chemical commonly used as fertilizer for plants and can be used to make explosives. It does not readily burn, but will do so if contaminated with combustible material. It’s also an oxidizer, meaning that it draws oxygen to a fire and can make it more intense.
ANFO explosives are approximately 80% of the value of TNT, so based on my calculations, the blast at the port was equivalent to approximately 2200 tons of TNT.
For reference, Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols used approximately 4800lbs of ammonium nitrate explosives when the bombed the Murragh building in Oklahoma City. That’s equivalent to about 3800 pounds of TNT. The MOAB (massive ordnance air burst) is equivalent to 11 tons of TNT. What I’m saying is this was a huge blast.
Related: Massive Explosion in Beirut
The Beirut blast leveled an area 2km from the blast site and left a 70m crater.
Smoke can still be seen rising over the remnants of the port. The grain silos that stored as much as 80% of the grain for the country have been destroyed. Much of downtown was littered with damaged vehicles and debris that had rained down from the shattered facades of buildings.