WTF This woke me up at 4:30

[Argent Stonecutter]

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

News is kind of uncertain but apparently a metalworking shop.

 

[Fionalein]

News is kind of uncertain but apparently a metalworking shop.

Quite plausible, they have welding gas tanks...

 

[RodeejahUrquan]

Geezus christos! I'm glad you're all right. Holee shit that looks terrifying...

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

He posted an updated video with sound.


I'm a bit over 10 miles away so I thought it was leftover fireworks at first.

 

[Caete]

Quite plausible, they have welding gas tanks...

News stations are saying at least 2 dead and that is was propylene that exploded.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Here's another clip.


It's a Nest camera, so I can't say for certain whether the clip was posted by the homeowner or by someone who hacked the camera.

By the way, does this seem to happen specifically in Houston or the surrounding areas like a lot over the last year or so, or is it just me? I swear there's some huge explosion in or around Houston every couple of months lately.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Houston has no zoning and Texas has lax regulations on chemicals. A very bracing combination.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

Houston has no zoning and Texas has lax regulations

You can stop right there.

This wasn't a chemical plant. But I'm sure there are minimal regulation on machine shops too.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

You can stop right there.

This wasn't a chemical plant. But I'm sure there are minimal regulation on machine shops too.

What in the hell does a machine shop have in it that could explode so violently it could be heard from over ten miles away??? Like holy freaking shit!

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Looks like it might take a couple of days for authorities to figure out what might have caused the explosion. There's some pictures at the article, the damage is impressive.

The explosion damaged some 200 homes and businesses. Police blocked off nearby streets, bordering a mile-long “hot zone” on Genard and Clay roads to the north and south and Gessner Road and Steffani Lane to the east and west.

A hazardous materials team responded, and the Red Cross set up a shelter at a church a few blocks west of the site. Arson investigators and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also joined the investigation.

Firefighters took one person to the hospital, Fire Chief Sam Peña said, and spent hours working to shut off propylene leaking inside the warehouse. Later in the day, HFD officials said an additional 18 people had “self-reported” to local emergency rooms because of problems breathing, cuts, or other injuries.

The shockwave devastated the manufacturing warehouse. It crumbled metal siding like aluminum foil.

The bit about hazmat teams having to shut off leaking propylene has led some people to talk about it having been a propylene explosion, but I'm not sure it's been determined yet whether that's true or if the propylene leak was just caused by the explosion and wasn't part of it.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

I heard the explosion was so violent, it blew houses off their foundations.

 

[Brenda Archer]

I heard the explosion was so violent, it blew houses off their foundations.

Yes.

The west Houston blast knocked houses off foundations; blew doors off frames; and jerked awake residents

They’re running other related articles too.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

The bit about hazmat teams having to shut off leaking propylene has led some people to talk about it having been a propylene explosion, but I'm not sure it's been determined yet whether that's true or if the propylene leak was just caused by the explosion and wasn't part of it.

If the tank exploded it probably wouldn't be merely *leaking* any more.

What in the hell does a machine shop have in it that could explode so violently it could be heard from over ten miles away??? Like holy freaking shit!

Welding gasses at the very least.

 

[Zaida Gearbox]

Knocked houses off their foundations? Holy Moly!