The Tianjin Red Cross Society’s Immediate response to the 2015 Tianjin Explosions

On August 12th, 2015, Tianjin's explosions resulted in devastating injuries and deaths. This unfateful day occurred at a container storage station near the Port of Tianjin and caused severe damage.

According to official reports, the first explosion felt as if someone detonated three tons of TNT. However, it was the second explosion that produced far greater destruction.

 

desc

An Overview Of The Explosions

The Ruihai Logistics company caused the origins of these unfortunate explosions. They handled dangerous elements within the port such as toxic chemicals, flammable substances and oxidizing agents.

It was also a storage facility for hazardous chemicals like potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate and calcium carbide. But, the company was illegally storing an abundance of these dangerous substances and ignored the safety regulations.

The first fire reports occurred around 22:50 local time on August 12th where firefighters arrived on the scene. The firefighters proceeded to prevent the fire from spreading by dowsing water. However, they were unaware of the dangerous chemicals stored on the site, which set off a series of extreme chemical reactions.

Due to this, the first explosion took place and registered a 2.3 magnitude earthquake. Precisely 30 seconds later, the second and brutal explosion occurred, causing more damage and sending shock waves kilometers away. These shock waves were equivalent to 29.9 tonnes of TNT.

The second explosion was much more severe than the first. It was visible through the geostationary meteorological satellite orbiting Earth during that time.

After the enormous explosions, eight smaller blasts transpired in the port and continued to spread.

The devastating explosions also revealed the urgent need for access to accurate information during a crisis, and one aspect that emerged as crucial was the ability to convert between different units of measurement. When such catastrophic events occur, emergency responders, relief organizations, and the affected community require rapid and reliable assessment of the extent of damage and effective communication to coordinate relief efforts. In these challenging circumstances, the ability to convert measurements becomes essential. Online tools such as for converting measurements, including distance, weight, volume, and temperature, across various systems such as metric, imperial, and others could be handy, enabling quick and accurate assessments and aiding in efficient decision-making during times of crisis. Whether it's determining the size of the affected area, assessing the quantities of relief supplies required, or communicating crucial measurements to international partners, online unit conversion tools have become indispensable in facilitating practical response efforts.

Death Toll And Injuries

After a month of the explosion, official reports concluded the deaths of 173 people while 797 were injured.

Within a radius of 1.5 km of the storage facility, there lived at least 1500 families in the area. Aside from local citizens, around 95 firefighters and 11 police officers were reported dead.

What caused this extreme explosion was a container of dry nitrocellulose. As the container overheated and the wet agents inside evaporated, it led to spontaneous ignition.

img

The Red Cross Society Of Tianjin

Immediately after the first four hours of the explosion, the Red Cross Society of Tianjin dispatched several relief items. These included first aid kits, food, water, tents and other necessities. In addition, the Red Cross Society of Tianjin set up shelters near the affected area.

The Red Cross provided psychosocial assistance to families and other victims involved in the explosion. Moreover, the displaced people took refuge at ten shelter points set up by the organization. The neighboring communities also received first aid kits from the Red Cross as soon as possible.

The aftermath also witnessed hundreds of people lined up at 15 blood donation outlets in Tianjin to help. Furthermore, the Beijing Red Cross Centre offered its support for the victims.

The Red Crescent societies and The International Federation of Red Cross kept close contact with the China Red Cross Society after the explosion. They closely monitored the aftermath and offered help wherever needed.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the explosion was disastrous, which the company responsible could've managed. However, one of the main reasons it occurred was human mismanagement.

Companies that work with such hazardous substances must be aware of the chemicals inside the factory. Besides, they should always be ready for an emergency by planning a prevention strategy.