Alpha Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 USA is having a bad week. First, the Boston Bombings, then the Ricin Letters, and now this. Here are the videos that were posted only a few hours ago: (CNN) -- The full extent of the devastation will have to wait until the light of day Thursday. But residents of the small Texas town of West already know what to expect. "There are a lot of people that got hurt," West Mayor Tommy Muska forewarned Wednesday night. "There are a lot of people that will not be here tomorrow." A massive explosion at a fertilizer plant on the edge of the town killed at least two people, wounded more than 150, leveled dozens of homes and prompted authorities to evacuate half their community of 2,800. "It was a like a nuclear bomb went off," Muska said. "Big old mushroom cloud." The Wednesday night blast shook houses 50 miles away and measured as a 2.1-magnitude seismic event, according to the United States Geological Survey. "Fire officials fear that the number of casualties could rise as high as 60 to 70 dead, said Dr. George Smith, the emergency management system director of the city. "That's a really rough number, I'm getting that figure from firefighters, we don't know yet," he said. "We have two EMS personnel that are dead for sure, and there may be three firefighters that are dead." Early Thursday morning, firefighters painstakingly combed through houses, many reduced to rubble. "(It's) massive -- just like Iraq. Just like the Murrah (Federal) Building in Oklahoma City," said D.L. Wilson of the public safety department. What caused the explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. was not immediately known. But its location -- next to an apartment complex, a nursing home and a middle school -- did not help matters. About 2 minutes of seismograph shows a first burst during the explosion and a second burst from the sound wave. The blast stripped the apartment complex, with 50 units, of its walls and windows. "It was just a skeleton standing up," Wilson said. [Read More] I really hope this is just an accident and that there's no connection to Boston. Ammonium Nitrate disasters have happened in all parts of the world (see here). It would be an odd coincidence for it to fall on this week. However, something like this did happen before in Texas around 1947. All in all, it's very heartbreaking to see how many lives have changed this week alone. I will say: people who just live through the motions should look at these disasters and realize that nothing compares to the value of life and that you should be grateful for everyday you get to spend with friends and/or family. It doesn't matter if you're an atheist or believe in a higher power... never take everyday for granted, and live your life to the fullest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hard Core Rikki Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Personally I find the reactions ridiculous. Nothing news channels should report (I guess impressionable folks attract those for sensationalism, as people still shaken convey extra emotivity viewers respond to more positively). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emsley Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 It comes in threes. Fucking weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 Personally I find the reactions ridiculous. Nothing news channels should report (I guess impressionable folks attract those for sensationalism, as people still shaken convey extra emotivity viewers respond to more positively).It seems to me you're trying to explain *normal* human emotion. How are the reactions ridiculous? It's already been reported over 60 have been killed (with many still in the hospital) and the destruction of the blast could be felt for miles. Also, there have been reports that anhydrous ammonia has been released in the air, which is a pungent gas that can cause instant respiratory problems and even death. A lot of lives can actually be saved by news channels reporting this, specifically for people within the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emsley Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Are you sure 60 have been killed? BBC site says about 6? The thing with america is that any explosion after 9/11 gets its people on high alert, and who can blame them. And just after an attack in boston, and this happens dont kid your self you "thought" it might be those lot. I should imagine any small explosion right now will have panicked americans in fear. Never mind one as fucking big as this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken_cinder Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 Never pay attention to the media coverage for actual figures until things have calmed down. The initial reports on Boston were of 3 devices exploding and multiple more undetonated devices being found...only the 2 exploded and NO other devices were found. There was also reports of 12 and even 50 people being dead in Boston...wasn't the case. The media likes to sensationalize things like this to get ratings...it's fucking sad actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Posted April 18, 2013 Author Share Posted April 18, 2013 Are you sure 60 have been killed? BBC site says about 6? The thing with america is that any explosion after 9/11 gets its people on high alert, and who can blame them. And just after an attack in boston, and this happens dont kid your self you "thought" it might be those lot. I should imagine any small explosion right now will have panicked americans in fear. Never mind one as fucking big as this!The original figure was approximately 60, as seen by the CNN article I quoted in my first post. Now it's at around 15. Pretty much all of America has PTSD after 9/11 happened... even after all these years. So yeah, it makes sense for people to be on high alert. Never pay attention to the media coverage for actual figures until things have calmed down. The initial reports on Boston were of 3 devices exploding and multiple more undetonated devices being found...only the 2 exploded and NO other devices were found. There was also reports of 12 and even 50 people being dead in Boston...wasn't the case. The media likes to sensationalize things like this to get ratings...it's fucking sad actually.You're right. I probably should have waited until the morning after for the official figures, but I was following the story live on TV as it happened. Overall though, the damage with this Fertilizer Plant is still pretty severe and there is still a search for missing people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L.S.D Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 well, earthquake in SiChuan China trumped all these now with 171 deaths and counting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted April 20, 2013 Share Posted April 20, 2013 At the same time as the Boston bombings, 50 were killed in Iraq in a series of terrorist bombings, and 40 died in an earthquake in Pakistan. Did anyone hear about those? Not likely. The media coverage depends on where it happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skythe Posted April 24, 2013 Share Posted April 24, 2013 This reminds me of the sugar refinery explosion 5 years ago that I responded to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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