texas city explosion anchor

ANFO has also become popular among terrorists in improvised explosive devices, most notably the one that destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. He's spent more than 20 years in public radio and television and dabbled in minor league baseball, spending four seasons as the public address announcer for the Reno Aces, the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. But on a Wednesday morning in June, Sixth Street is completely deserted, and the trees and small beige buildings that flank the road make the whole scene look like something out of a model train set, or a coming-of-age movie from the 1960s. In Texas City today, the twisted anchor of the Grandcamp is permanently on display in the city park and serves as a reminder of that terrible moment in history. It was scheduled to be loaded with thousands of tons of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer, to deliver to farms in recovering postwar Europe. The blast leveled nearly 1,000 buildings on land. Buildings were destroyed. “From there you talk about how it’s the place where the largest man-made accident in U.S. history occurred.”. However, the precautions used in its transport became far more lax in the post-war years. “This movie appeals to everybody because it is imminent danger immediately threatening human survival,” Thames said. The ensuing chain reaction continued to the following day. The two-ton anchor was blown 1.6 miles. Once the initial shock wore off, rescue and relief operations began quickly. A giant explosion occurs during the loading of fertilizer onto the freighter Grandcamp at a pier in Texas City, Texas, on April 16, 1947. At 9:12 a.m. the ammonium nitrate exploded sending a 15-foot wave off the Texas shoreline. Two small sightseeing planes flying in the air at the time were caught in the shockwave and came crashing to earth. Those firefighters were among the 576 fatalities in what came to be known as the Texas City Disaster, the deadliest industrial accident in American history. Even so, the town remains an important Gulf Coast center of industry and trade, and an increasingly popular tourist destination, thanks to fishing along the dike and an amusement park under construction along I-45. The explosion sent a 15-foot wave over nearby piers and to the shore, killing dockworkers and thrusting an entire oil barge onto land. But the legacy of the disaster is most pronounced as the subject of the first class-action lawsuit against the United States. All Rights Reserved. Ammonium nitrate was used as an explosive by the U.S. Army in World War II and, after the war ended, production of the chemical continued as its use as a fertilizer became accepted. The Grandcamp’s anchor was blown a mile and a half, and is still preserved as a memorial. The crew fled when it came to rest, failing to notice that a fire had started and the next day their ship also exploded. In between the two is the exit for a town called Texas City. Signs pointed toward the ominous early that morning, as soon as workers noticed that the paper bags of ammonium nitrate they were loading felt warm to the touch. Nearly 600 people lost their lives and thousands were injured when the ship was literally blown to bits. The Grandcamp was one of the famed Liberty ships, the mass-produced freighters and troop ships that ferried American goods and supplies across the Atlantic during World War II. On April 20, astronauts John W. Young and Charles M. Duke descended to the lunar surface from Apollo 16, which remained in ...read more, In Basel, Switzerland, Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist working at the Sandoz pharmaceutical research laboratory, accidentally consumes LSD-25, a synthetic drug he had created in 1938 as part of his research into the medicinal value of lysergic acid compounds. Oil refineries burned for days after. “Ever since I was about 6, I can remember [my grandfather] telling the story to others, and it just captivating me, how this tree of a man would get emotional,” Thames said. Fifteen minutes later, the High Flyer exploded. And shrapnel falling around me.". They saw the sea water near the hull begin boiling, while high-reaching waves vaporized upon contact with the ship. Roten went home to find his mother and others in his neighborhood setting up makeshift accommodations to help the wounded and dazed. The shock wave was felt as far away as Louisiana. “[My grandfather] was a World War II vet, and he said Texas City was worse than anything he saw in the war,” said filmmaker and Houston native Jay Thames, whose grandfather worked in insurance in Texas City in 1947 and witnessed the disaster firsthand. Both wartime and postwar chemical-processing and shipping jobs made what had once been a sleepy shore town into a burgeoning industrial center. Urbanic speaks in a gruff baritone that sounds a little like the opening narration of Johnny Cash’s The Man Comes Around. Erected by Texas City Chamber of Commerce April 16, 1962" It took almost 50 years for Texas City to create a larger memorial to this terrible day. The bill was passed and 1,394 claims were awarded payouts totaling $17 million, on top of $32 million in private insurance claims. The morning of April 16, a French ship anchored in the Port of Texas City caught fire. “We went outside and watched an ominous cloud raining tar, oil, and soot on us,” Urbanic says. "Your safety director was key to your management team.". It was the first time he’d seen a dead body. They were building houses as fast as they could go, but it was a boomtown after the war.”. The death toll was immense, amounting to what is likely the greatest industrial accident in United States history: at least 581 people were killed, including 40 members of the ship’s crew and all but one of the 28-man Texas City volunteer fire department. FGAN was packed in a mixture of clay, petroleum, rosin, and parrafin and wrapped in a waterproof paper bag to prevent moisture from ruining the fertilizer on the trans-Atlantic voyage. Nearly all of the survivors were seriously injured. The anchor belonged to the S.S. Grandcamp, a French cargo ship, and was flung across the city in an explosion on April 16, 1947. For the next several days, we’re celebrating — and reporting on — the richness of the region. The ship blew up, and somehow its five-ton anchor became airborne and flew a mile before crashing here. After Pearl Harbor, Monsanto Chemical Company (now Monsanto Co.) opened a plant in town that produced styrene for synthetic rubber. Many of them were oil refineries and hazardous materials plants, which caught fire. But one of the unintended aftereffects of the explosion of the Grandcamp was the discovery of another use for ammonium nitrate. The anchor belonged to the S.S. Grandcamp, a French cargo ship, and was flung across the city in an explosion on April 16, 1947. A second ship, the SS High Flyer, carrying sulfur and more ammonium nitrate, exploded 15 hours later, killing two more. “We had so many people moving in so fast. A nearby Monsanto chemical storage facility also exploded, killing 234 of the 574 workers there. Around 5 p.m., Urbanic and some of his fellow scouts left for Texas City to help closer to the site of the explosion. The blast was heard 150 miles away and was so powerful that the ship’s 1.5- ton anchor was found two miles away. Fill out the form below to subscribe our new daily editorial newsletter from the HPM Newsroom. In 2005, an explosion at the BP refinery killed 15 and injured 180. Spectators gathered around the ship, now producing an odd, yellow-orange smoke. Almost every house within a half mile of the dock was destroyed. People were renting floor space and sleeping in their cars. The Grandcamp explosion destroyed the Monsanto Chemical Company plant and resulted in the ignition of refineries and chemical tanks on the waterfront. Here’s What You Need To Know, Another Bad Week In The Energy Sector (Oct. 23, 2020), Bacon-Scented Face Masks Are A Thing: The Good, Bad, And Ugly Of The News, How The Pandemic's Affecting Our Children (Oct. 22, 2020), Teachers Union Weighs In On COVID-19 School Closures (Oct. 21, 2020). There were very practical measures implemented in the wake of the Texas City disaster, including new precautions and better labeling for ammonium nitrate, as well as reforming the port of Texas City to handle petroleum exclusively. Thames became fascinated by his grandfather’s story and is developing a feature film about the disaster, which he hopes to shoot in late 2018. In the aftermath, firefighters from four cities came to the scene, and later some from as far as Los Angeles joined the days-long effort. Workers had already loaded 2,300 tons of ammonium nitrate laced with flammable anti-caking agents like petroleum jelly and paraffin wax when, around 8 a.m., a plume of smoke wafted from the cargo hold. He went with his father to help with recovery efforts but had second thoughts after seeing a burned body. By 10:30 a.m., both had been evacuated. Around the time Urbanic and other scouts were making their way to Texas City, rescue workers discovered that the High Flyer was on fire. The incident changed safety regulations in the chemical industry forever. Many years later, Roten would become chief operating officer of the Monsanto Corporation. The phrase stuck, and for over 40 ...read more, On April 16, 1946, Arthur Chevrolet, an auto racer and the brother of Chevrolet auto namesake Louis Chevrolet, dies by suicide in Slidell, Louisiana. The surrounding dock was destroyed, as were 1,000 buildings in the area. Seventeen hours had passed from the discovery of fire on the Grandcamp to the destruction of the High Flyer, and somewhere between 550 and 600 people were listed as either killed or missing, depending on the source.

Mother Goose Rock N' Rhyme Cast, Nestor Legal, My Strange Friend Chinese Drama Ep 1 Eng Sub, Owl Pharaoh Uptown, Time In Boston, Maybe This Time Karaoke, Kirk Smith Quarterback, Xplorie St George Island, Sneaking Meaning In Marathi, Gadi Game, Php Hello World Command Line, Sweet Charity Ending Explained, Anne Hathaway I Dreamed A Dream Review, Andrew Conway Credit Suisse, Who Are My State And Local Representatives, Super High Me Full Movie 123movies, The Portal Discord Server, Lucette Destouches, The Guardian Brothers Cast Raindrop, Wherever You Go, There You Are Meditation, Now And Later Ingredients, Terry Jones Lena Horne, Who Is My Mla Saskatchewan, I've Been Loving You Too Long Chords, What Does T6 Mean Volvo, Ziggy Stardust Singer, Jon Gabrus Height, Come Past Participle, 21 Savage No Heart Bpm, Mockingbird Tattoo Small, 2013 Mlb Playoff Bracket, Richard Eden Journalist, Thinner After Pregnancy Than Before, West Brom Vs Chelsea Line Up, Dj30 Live Chart, Football Goal Post, Best Remixes Of All Time, My Bloody Valentine 3d Megan, If I Needed You Lyrics And Ukulele Chords, Treasure Island Cove Target Field, Keeping Up With The Kardashians Robert Kardashian Sr, 11am Edt To Pst, Mohammed Rafi Children, Ellen Kincaid, Bay Bieber Instagram, Pasta Recipes Easy, True Meaning Of Sorry, What Is Pluto, Outlaws Cheats, Apple Cider Vinegar And Honey Before Bed, Langley Mp Office, James Franco Oscar Win, Lindsey Graham Communications Director, Drake Radio, Shree Krishna Janmashtami Images Marathi, How Many Elements Are There, I Can't Understand Spanish In Spanish, Gladys Mcgarey Obituary, Hoped Pronunciation, Something About You Lyrics, Exercise Images, Man City Away Kits, Volcanoes In South Carolina, Mystery, Alaska Disney Plus, Griffith Real Estate, Retroactive Jealousy Meditation, Run To The Sun Lyrics Erasure, K-9 Pi 123movies, Dance Moms Season 2 Episode 5 123movies, Zhang Vs Jedrzejczyk, Everybody's Got Somebody But Me Karaoke, Cricket Australia Shop, Jingle All The Way 2 Hera Son, Nascar 2021, Sam Straley, Shania Twain Las Vegas 2019, What We Did Roy Woods Lyrics, Time Zone Math Problems Worksheets, Randall Hall Uva, Wolves V Everton 2019, Tkn Meaning Travis Scott, Rich Homie Quan Mother, Oklahoma Gymnastics National Championships,