Catastrophe in China. Explosions on August 12, 2015

August 12, 2015, the Chinese port city of Tianjin shook a terrible catastrophe, the news of which scattered around the world with incredible speed. Also on the Internet was a video that showed a catastrophe in China. What happened and what were the consequences of this incident, we learn in more detail.

What happened on that fateful night?

How did the catastrophe occur in China? Explosion, then, with an interval of half a minute, one more. Explosions occurred at one of the warehouses owned by the logistics company Ruihai Logistics. It is known that explosive substances were stored at this facility. However, there is no reliable information on their quantity and exact composition. Explosions led to a fire, which, incidentally, managed to localize relatively quickly. The area of ignition was approximately 20 thousand square meters.

As a result of the explosions, at least fifty people died at once, and another 700 received various kinds of damage. Also, several dozen people were declared missing. Experts estimated the explosive power - 3 and 21 tons in TNT equivalent. Seismologists also argue that the catastrophe in China caused considerable fluctuations in the earth. In the first hours since the incident, the Chinese authorities announced that all necessary efforts will be made to save the wounded, as well as minimize the consequences of the explosions.

Causes of an emergency

If we talk about the causes of the explosions in Tianjin, the obvious question immediately arises: "Why is the warehouse where such dangerous materials were stored so close to the places where people live?" To date, the investigative authorities have not been able to recreate the exact picture of what happened. Nevertheless, the charges have already been brought against some Chinese officials, as well as high-ranking employees of Ruihai Logistics. According to the investigation, these people are more or less guilty of the fact that this catastrophe occurred in China. In August, many of them were arrested.

During the investigation, many violations of Chinese law were revealed, it is possible that corruption took place here. Licenses for the storage of hazardous chemicals were issued with gross violations. It also became known that in the construction of warehouses and the operation of explosive chemical materials, basic safety rules were not observed.

Consequences of explosions

As a result of the disaster in Tianjin, several residential high-rise buildings were destroyed, located in relative proximity to warehouses. Several thousand new cars were burnt to the parking lot near the port. As the eyewitnesses say, at the time of the explosion, like matchboxes, even huge metal containers with goods that were on the territory of the logistics complex flew into the air.

More than a thousand and a half enterprises suffered from explosions to one degree or another. Also in the vicinity of the scene, the traffic of road and rail transport was suspended, petrol stations were closed. In the immediate vicinity of the logistics warehouses there is a national supercomputer center. At the time of the disaster in China, its employees decided to stop the fastest supercomputer Tianhe-1A in the world. The center itself was not damaged, not including partially damaged ceilings in the building.

The Chinese authorities had to suspend the work of the Tianjin Port. Since even after the main explosions there was a threat of new ones, first of all, the ability to receive and send to other ports tankers carrying oil and other chemicals was limited.

Elimination of consequences

Almost a hundred and fifty fire brigades were involved in eliminating the consequences of the explosions. More than a thousand firefighters joined the fight against fire and rescue work. Representatives of paramilitary units were also brought in, and behind the scene of the accident, air surveillance was conducted using military helicopters.

The catastrophe in China drew the attention of the entire international community - the governments of the European Union and the Russian Federation offered assistance to China to eliminate the consequences of emergency situations and minimize potential losses.

Consequences for residents

In addition to the fact that many people's houses were damaged or completely destroyed by the explosions, hundreds of families whose homes were not harmed still had to leave them for fear of their own health. The results of official environmental studies indicate that the level of harmful substances in soil, rivers and air does not exceed the permissible level. Despite this, many people are seriously concerned about the fact that at the time of the explosions, there were at least 700 tons of toxic chemicals in the warehouses.

Of course, people tend to return to everyday life and forget this horrible August night. The authorities use all means available to them to restore the affected area and help people. However, after watching the video and photos of the disaster in China, you come to the conclusion that this is not soon forgotten. It is necessary for a person with great responsibility to treat the authority that is in his hands.