Hope all of our Texas builders are ok

[DrKerry]

After last nights fiasco in Waco I hope everyone and there families are ok!!!

[Joe Handley]

X2!!!!! That was bad, real bad.

[Evilbenny]

I live a good 40+ miles north of West and I heard the explosion. It shook the windows and doors of my apartment. I thought it was thunder until I turned on the news. That was one powerful explosion. My prayers are with the people of West.

[MikeyB08]

Big prayer sent to our Texas friends and family.

This is a seismograph that picked up the explosion in Amarillo, Tx.

Unreal. Just unreal.

[Evilbenny]

Aftermath pic's on our local news sites for those who may be interested. WFAA, Myfox4dfw, NBC5I and CBS11.

[DrKerry]

Saw some photos today that had two trucks parked by one another, doors blown inward and panels twisted up. Not a mere 30 feet away was an anhydrous amonia tank completely untouched. They said that it was like a tornado they way the wind blew from the explosion. Crazy, just crazy!!!!

[Ben]

Three hours north of me. Keeping them all in my prayers!

[Metalmad]

My prayers out to all in West Texas.

Man this has been a tough week here in America.

[DrKerry]

My wife was reading online tonight that one of the runners that just crossed the finish line in the Boston Marathon as the explosion went off, got back home to another one, he lives in Waco.

[Joe Handley]

My wife was reading online tonight that one of the runners that just crossed the finish line in the Boston Marathon as the explosion went off, got back home to another one, he lives in Waco.

I heard about that while heading into work today! Apparently he passed the bomb 30 seconds before it blew and was fine while his wife only recieved very minor injuries. They get home and he has a work meeting and drove past the plant shortly after it blew without any injuries to himself or apparently even to his vehicle! Needless to say, he counting his lucky stars now...........hopefully none of our flood waters end up going his way..............

[DrKerry]

There ya go Joe, I knew there was more to the story. My wife said he needs to go hide in a cave for awhile. I told her as long as there aren't any natural gas lines near it. Lucky lucky guy!!!!

[Joe Handley]

Yea, I'm pulling up to work as the DJ was talking about it and he couldn't beleive how lucky the guys has been so far!

[Quick GMC]

This is a picture of the blast area. Notice the playground across the street. This is insane. Nothing graphic

http://i.imgur.com/nZaXjZ8.jpg

Also, here is an article about the plant. 400lbs or more of ammonium nitrate needs to be reported, they had 270 TONS, and haven't had an OSHA inspection in 27 years

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/20/us-usa-explosion-regulation-idUSBRE93J09N20130420

These guys are in serious trouble

[DrKerry]

That photo is nuts. Man that could of been a heck of a lot worse!!!!!!

[Quick GMC]

That photo is nuts. Man that could of been a heck of a lot worse!!!!!!

If they hadn't been hoarding chemicals and reported their quantities like they should have, it would have been only a fraction of that size and possibly prevented anyone from dying.

[DrKerry]

You got that right. May have been only a fire and nothing more...

[milkman]

I live about 60 miles northeast of West and we felt more than heard the blast here. It was like long distance thunder that shakes the windows slightly and you say, "What was that?". Amazing that it did not kill more people. It had been there so long the town had built out to it. I cannot believe they had become so complacent that they built a school, apartment complex, and nursing home that close. Typical farming community fertilizer plant with liquid tanks to pull behind planters as you put the seed in the ground. There were also fertilizer carts to apply the granular fertilizer in bulk. Just like the stuff you buy in a sack at your home improvement store to go on your yard only in quantity. It also had some feed bins full of grain. That is what you see in the pics of the huge bin collapsed with the brown stuff on the ground. That was a tank full of milo. We always stop in West to get kolaches when passing through on the interstate. The Czech folks in town also make amazing sausage and it is sold at several meat markets in town.

I knew there had to be members on here in the metroplex area. I did not know anyone was within 40 miles. Benjamin, you were closer than I was. I imagine you felt it for sure.

A little trivia on the ammonium nitrate that they had so much of stored in the plant. This time of year farmers apply it to wheat, oat, and rye grass fields to put the final growth on before harvest. It is also used on hay fields in the late spring and summer to produce high quantity yields with high protein content. I personally use about 45 tons of it every year on my bermuda grass hay fields to produce winter hay to feed my cattle. It is also used in the rock pits in this area. We have large deposits of limestone rock that is used as a road base. I have it on the road and driveway to my house and barns. They jack hammer out a hole in the solid rock and stick in a couple of bags of ammonium nitrate with one stick of dynamite. It goes bang big time and blasts out rock to be scooped up and fed to the rock crusher.

[Blackwolf]

Our hearts and prayers goes out to all that was effected by the explosion and may you all recover quickly