On August 12, 2015, the Chinese port city of Tianjin was shaken by a terrible disaster, the news of which spread around the world with incredible speed. Also, a video appeared on the Internet, which depicted a catastrophe in China. What happened and what were the consequences of this incident, we will find out in more detail.
What happened that fateful night?
How did the disaster happen in China? An explosion, then, at intervals of half a minute, another. The explosions occurred at one of the warehouses owned by the logistics company Ruihai Logistics. Explosives are known to have been stored at this facility. However, reliable information regarding their number and exact composition is not available. The explosions led to a fire, which, however, was localized relatively quickly. The fire covered an area of approximately 20,000 square meters.
As a result of the explosions, at least fifty people died at a time, another 700 were injured in various ways. Dozens of people have also been reported missing.without a trace. Experts estimated the power of the explosions - 3 and 21 tons of TNT. Seismologists say that the catastrophe in China caused significant ground vibrations. In the first hours after the incident, the Chinese authorities announced that all necessary efforts would be made to save the wounded, as well as minimize the consequences of the explosions.
Causes of the emergency
If we talk about the causes of the explosions in Tianjin, the obvious question immediately arises: "Why is the warehouse that stored such dangerous materials located so close to where people live?" To date, the investigating authorities have not been able to recreate an accurate picture of what happened. However, 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 to some extent guilty of the fact that this catastrophe occurred in China. In August, many of them were arrested.
The investigation revealed many violations of Chinese law, 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 during the construction of warehouses and the operation of explosive chemical materials, elementary safety rules were not observed.
The aftermath of explosions
As a result of the disaster in Tianjin, several residential high-rise buildings located inrelative proximity to warehouses. Several thousand new cars were burned to the ground in a parking lot near the port. According to eyewitnesses, at the moment of the explosion, even huge metal containers with goods that were located on the territory of the logistics complex flew into the air like matchboxes.
More than one and a half thousand enterprises suffered from explosions to one degree or another. Also, in the area of the scene, the movement of road and rail transport was suspended, gas stations were closed. In the immediate vicinity of the logistics warehouses, there is a national supercomputer center. At the time when the disaster occurred in China, its employees decided to stop the world's fastest supercomputer Tianhe-1A. The center itself was not damaged, apart from partially damaged ceilings in the building.
Chinese authorities had to suspend the work of the Tianjin port. Since even after the main explosions there was a threat of new ones, the ability to receive and send tankers carrying oil and other chemicals to other ports was limited in the first place.
Remediation
To eliminate the consequences of the explosions, almost one and a half hundred fire brigades were involved. More than a thousand firefighters joined the fight against fire and rescue work. Representatives of the paramilitary units were also involved, and aerial surveillance was conducted over the crash site using military helicopters.
The disaster in China attractedthe 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 the emergency and minimize potential losses.
Consequences for residents
In addition to the fact that the houses of many people were damaged or completely destroyed by the explosions, hundreds of families whose homes were not affected, still had to leave them out of fear for their own he alth. The results of official environmental studies indicate that the level of harmful substances in the 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, at least 700 tons of toxic chemicals were in the warehouses.
Of course, people tend to return to everyday life and forget this terrible August night. The authorities are using 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. Humanity needs to be very responsible for the power that is in its hands.
