I can believe that, factoring in horizontal as well as vertical separation.
Actually, reports said the problem is that people ran to their windows to see what had happened. Then 3 minutes later about 4,000 buildings had their windows blown in.
I wonder how many of the injuries were caused by that reaction.
You can view a nice compilation of videos by Alexander Zaytsev. Outdoor Example. Indoor example. Another indoor example.
Separately, it's amazing the popularity of dash cams in Russia. It's apparently a defense against the prevalence of insurance fraud.
I have read elsewhere that people in London were able to read their newspapers at night from the light of Tungusku.
Not likely.
However, the Tunguska bolide, which arrived in 1908 about 1500 miles due east of Chelyabinsk, is estimated to have had a yield of 3 to 30 megatons. Also, it exploded at a much lower altitude and knocked down about 80 million trees. The few eyewitness accounts describe an event resembling a thermonuclear attack (minus the fallout, and other radiation effects, etc). If there had been a metropolis below, it would have been toast.
I also read that a boloid strike in the Amazon, I think in the 1930s, flattened an area about 50 miles in diameter.
The media are claiming the Chelyabinsk object is the biggest since Tunguska. For that reason, it would be neat if there really was a 'Brazilian Tunguska Event'. Of course, on the other hand, it would imply that such events are about twice as likely as commonly believed ...
Now you’ve done it, made me go dig out my copy of “Impact Earth; Ateroids, Commets and Meteoroids, The Growing Threat”, by Austen Atkinson, 1999.;-) News reports said many of the injuries were from flying glass.
Impact Earth, pg. 22. “...[Tungusku] blast...at a height of approximately 8 km....burnt, defoliated and felled trees, and killed thousands of reindeer, across an area of approx. 2,000 sq. km.” “Games of cricket were played in London under an incandescent night sky that was said to be so bright as to allow a newspaper to be read at midnight.” Also an 18 time level of Iridium was found with the GISP2 Greenland ice core project.
IE, pg. 80. The Brazil event occurred in May 1931. An Amazon tribe was so shocked it was preparing mass suicide. A Catholic priest, who is apparently the source of this information, talked them out of it. It is suggested that this air burst was “equivalent to 4-8 Hiroshima sized atomic bombs.” It set afire 1,300 sq. kms. of rainforest. The square root of 1300 is about 36, so rounding out, it was probably an area 40 km. in diameter.
I wonder if Soddom and Gommorah was an air burst event?