Well, there will be no radiation and the effects will be fairly localized depending on the mixture of gasoline to air and volume of each. Figure something like a MEGA "Daisy Cutter" but limited to the immediate area of the tank farm. Those things are not usually located in residential areas. It would be bad enough to register on earthquake sensors around the country but the blast effects would probably be limited to shock wave shattering glass in area buildings and such. Of course, anybody in the immediate area of the explosion is going to be killed either from the fire storm or the sucking of oxygen from the area or by the shock wave/over pressure effects.
Well a Daisy Cutter in that area, especially daytime, would mean thousands of deaths, the trailer court I mentioned immediately next to it, police training within 1/4 mile, dozens of motels close to the airport but in the immediate area, it is a very congested area with fast food/restaurants, this tank area sits right on the corner by a myriad of traffic on Elmhurst/Higgins, very central, very congested, alot of commerce like FedEx etc.
Hey ExSoldier...I have been checking-in from time to time but just can't keep up with the thread daily as I used to. (Homeschooling/child-rearing really cuts into my free time ;) ) I live in Northern Virginia & on I-95, just south of the "Mixing Bowl" there are several huge white silo thingys. Is this a tank farm? I see tanker trucks pulling in and out when I happen to go by that way but haven't really noticed any signage to identify it. If it is or if it is some other toxic stuff in those enormous cylinders, it'd really mess-up the evening rush hour if something ever happened to it. Anyone else know what it is?