Posted on 04/17/2013 6:51:57 PM PDT by kristinn
A large explosion rocked the town of West, Texas, 19 miles north of Waco, on Wednesday evening.
A source tells News 8 that a large swath of the small town with a population of 2,800 has been leveled.
According to initial reports, the blast was at the West Fertilizer plant at 1471 Jerry Mashek Drive, about a half-mile east of Interstate 35.
(Excerpt) Read more at wfaa.com ...
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.
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.
The blast stripped the apartment complex, with 50 units, of its walls and windows. "It was just a skeleton standing up," Wilson said.
The nursing home, with 133 residents, was quickly evacuated.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/18/us/texas-explosion/index.html
Some of the comments to this article are very disheartening. Some saying we deserve it because of Iraq and Afghanistan and trolls making inane comments. There are some sick people out there.
Fertilizer in and of itself (Even AN or urea)is not explosive.
bkmk
West Fertilizer Co. reported having as much as 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia on hand in an emergency planning report required of facilities that use toxic or hazardous chemicals.
But the report, reviewed Wednesday night by The Dallas Morning News, stated “no” under fire or explosive risks. The worst possible scenario, the report said, would be a 10-minute release of ammonia gas that would kill or injure no one.
Sometimes those who fill out EPA SARA 311 / 312 reports know absolutely nothing of their business, the chemistry, and unfortunately the risk of their business.
don’t think I will go there or make that broad a statement.
yep, your post makes it clear. My apology if my prior post to you was misunderstood.
No, if you were a nutter, you would be freaking out that:
shortly after Nagasaki and Hiroshima when Japan suffered 2 radiation disasters, the US suffered 2 similar sized blasts, one at Port Chicago and the other at Texas City.
About 66 years after Nagasaki, Japan suffers another radiation disaster at Fukushima. 66 years after the Great Texas City Explosion, Texas suffers another fertilizer explosion.
Are we in a 66 year loop?
Are we in a 66 year loop? <8^0
Alert. Police press conference in the next 6-7 minutes.
It's not the same video.
This is a pretty darn powerful explosion, just woke up here and its already taken over the Marathon bombing in the news.
Actually it may already have surpassed the deaths and injuries numbers as well.
But will it be politicized like the Marathon bombing?
I think that is a relevant question because now Obama is revenge filled and is looking for ANY disaster to use to further the progressive agenda.
May the injuries and deaths be minor I pray, and also that it was an accident.
I can say this my head will be on a swivel in the near future.
I am shocked that there was even an explosion to begin with. I am very, very worried for this coutnry.
As far as Obama is concerned, we are dealing with a LOSER who just got his rear-end handed to him.
Anhydrous ammonia isn’t the kind of ammonia you get in Mr. Clean, or whatever.
It is basically that same Mr. Clean without the water.
Buddy of mine grew up in Kansas and they use it as fertilizer by pumping it into the soil.
Put simply, the stuff is deadly. A lungful of that and you are at serious risk of taking a dirt nap!
Just flicking through channels and MSLSD is going on about gun control and calling those who voted against their agenda cowards and they will be targeted .
ER correct me if I ma wrong but a massive explosion just went off in TX and yes I know it’s the south and looked down on by many up north and the elitist but the fact remains that many have died and been injured and MSLSD is talking about gun control , calling reps cowards and liars and then talking about immigration.
The left wing are nuts and I have to winder if this explosion just happened in NY City then all the new outlets if you can call MSLSD , used to be known as MSNBC would be covering this tragedy.
If it bleeds, it leads is in the news, the MSM is getting off the Marathon bombing and switching tracks to Waco.
The anti gunners are trying to get sympathy but nobody is interested in their pitiful cries when a whole town has just been destroyed, people killed and missing.
And who knows what will happen next, NOKO attacks, a massive earthquake, etc.
Personally I feel very good yet still respectfully somber what with the Waco explosion and Boston but uplifted seeing the looks on Bammy, Obiden,Pelousy and others.
They lost.
We won.
And I pray Obama has an even better pout when he gets arrested for illegally being something he aint.
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