Massive Explosions in China Seen from Space
August 14, 2015
On August 12, 2015, a fire at a warehouse that stored toxic chemicals in the port city of Tianjin, China, caused a pair of explosions that left at least 56 people dead and more than 700 injured. More than 20 of the dead were firefighters. Investigators are not yet sure what caused the explosions, which caused widespread damage.
In the port city of Tianjin (directly below Beijing on the map), a pair of explosions killed dozens of people. (World Book map; map data © MapQuest.com, Inc.)
At about 10:50 p.m. on Wednesday, August 12, firefighters responded to a fire call at the warehouse, which reportedly stored dangerous chemicals used in a variety of industrial processes. Around 11:30 p.m., an explosion occurred, quickly followed by a second, much larger explosion. The explosions sent shockwaves through the city, destroying shipping containers near the warehouse and damaging nearby residential buildings. The explosions were so powerful they registered on seismometers (earthquake-monitoring equipment) and were felt many miles away. The explosions also sent a fireball into the sky above Tianjin that could be seen from space. Buildings surrounding the warehouse caught fire. Some were still burning this morning, two days later. Military chemical experts have been called in to advise on how to fight the fires that still burn.
