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Chinese state media are reporting a huge detonation in the port city of Tianjin. Video footage shows a pair of explosions, separated by roughly 30 seconds. The Chinese media have stated that the two explosions in question had different causes, with the first related to “flammables,” and the second to “oil,” but some news sources are reporting that the official cause was a shipment of explosives. 300-400 people have been taken to hospitals thus far, at least two firefighters have died, and six more are out of contact. As of this writing, there are 38 fire engines on scene, battling the blaze. There’s no formal word yet on how many people have been killed.

Ground zero for the blast was the Tianjian Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics Co. Ltd, which handles the transport of hazardous goods. Many companies have offices in Tianjin, it’s classified as an economic free trade zone, meaning it has a sizable industrial manufacturing base. The shockwave from the blasts could be felt miles away from the city, but early fears that the detonation might have been nuclear have been disproven. Despite the presence of a mushroom cloud, the blast clearly occurred after an initial fire, and was not the result of any kind of nuclear detonation.

Early reports suggest that this could be one of the worst explosive disasters on record. Port city explosions have the potential to inflict enormous devastation on nearby populations — the Halifax explosion of 1917 killed 2000 and injured an estimated 9000 people, while the Texas City disaster in 1947 killed 581 and injured roughly 5000. If the fires from the initial blast cannot be contained, they have the potential to do as much or more damage than the explosion itself, while the shockwave from such blasts can injure people by flinging them into walls or furniture. At close range, the concussive force of a blast can actually kill outright.

We’ll update this post as news develops.

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