It seems like America can't catch a break this week. A massive explosion at a fertilizer plant has rocked a town called West, north of Waco. Dozens of buildings destroyed, many injured. There has been confirmation that some have died, raising fears for first responding firefighters. Amongst the buildings destroyed are a nursing home and a school, though mercifully with the explosion happening at 8pm the school was undoubtably empty, as was, hopefully, the plant.
This looks to be the biggest industrial explosion in America since the Pepcon disaster in 1988. Thanks to the remoteness of that site the explosion, measured at one kiloton, only killed two - one of whom was the heroic Pepcon Controller Roy Westerfield who stayed behind to call and warn firemen to stay away. As for this one, it looks to be up there with Enschade in Holland and Flixborough in the UK back in 1974.
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-ne ... n-west.eceAccounts from the Dallas News site attest to its scale...
Quote:
People as far away as 50 miles away reported feeling what seemed like an earthquake. The U.lS. Geological Survey reported that the blast generated enough force to register like a magnitude 2.1 earthquake.
Paul Manigrasso, a Gulf War veteran, felt the blast in Waxahachie.
“Based on my naval experience ... we knew immediately what it was but cannot believe it occurred 40 miles away,” he told KWTX-TV.
Andy Bartee of Dallas was driving home from Austin when he stopped at a convenience store about five miles from the explosion. Suddenly the lights went out and the explosion rocked the building.
“You could feel it in your chest and ears,” he said. Ceiling tiles fell and pictures on the wall broke.
“It was pretty nuts,” he said. “It looked like a mushroom cloud. It looked like an atom bomb had been dropped,” Bartee said. “I’ve never seen or felt anything like that.”
Debby Marak said she had seen the plant burning and had driven closer to see what was happening but reversed direction after two boys ran toward her screaming that authorities had told them to flee because the plant was going to explode.
“It was like being in a tornado,” Marak said of the blast that erupted as she was driving away. “Stuff was flying everywhere. It blew out my windshield. It was like the whole earth shook.”
The question stands as to why a plant was built so incredibly close to the town, especially with so much space in America - and Texas especially - to place things. Apparently the plant told the EPA that there was no danger of explosion or release of fumes. But fertilizer plants are by nature hazardous, what made the EPA think it was impossible? After all, a fertilizer bomb was what McVeigh used. Furthermore, footage on the Beeb shows one man filming the fire from a dangerously near position, the blast seemingly causing burst eardrums to him and his daughter. Why isn't there literature for those living near such plants warning about the possible dangers if there ever should be a fire?
The footage of nighttime baseball fields made triages is pretty surreal. Straight out of Hollywood. Looks like its a bad week for things exploding in America.
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) One of the chasers reported a big explosion in the area and awful weird smelling smoke drifting across the roads.
