AustinBiz Facts for Austin Texas

Texas City Disaster

Boats

Grandcamp was recently reactivated the 437 feet (133 m) Liberty ship. Originally called the SS Benjamin R. Curtis in Los Angeles in 1942, the ship served in the Pacific and was put on hold in Philadelphia, after the Second World War. In a gesture of Cold War, the ship was assigned to the French line to assist in the reconstruction of Europe. With the load of ammonium nitrate are common in the high seastar carry ammunition for small machines, and the bridge balls of sisal. The SS High Flyer is another ship in the harbor, about 600 feet (200 m) of the SS Grandcamp. The High Flyer 961 extras tons of ammonium nitrate and £ 3.6 million (1,800 tons) of sulfur. Ammonium nitrate vessels and adjacent warehouse was fertilizer on their way to farmers in Europe. The Grandcamp was arrived at Houston, Texas, where the Port Authority does not charge for ammonium nitrate.

Explosions

Ammonium nitrate 32.5%, which is used as fertilizer and explosives, was manufactured in Nebraska and Iowa, and sent to Texas City by rail before being loaded into the Grandcamp.

It was manufactured using a patented process of explosives, mixed with clay, Vaseline and paraffin resin to prevent moisture from agglomeration. It was also in packaging paper bags and transported and stored at temperatures that increased its chemical activity. Tops reported the bags were hot before loading contact.

Around 8:10, the smoke was seen in the hold of the Grandcamp. Attempts at control have failed as a red glow returned after each effort.

Shortly before 9:00, the captain ordered his men to take the steam, a method of extinction where steam is channeled to the fire in an attempt to preserve the load. Meanwhile, the fire drew a crowd of spectators along the coast, they thought that a safe distance. Spectators watch the water around the ship was boiling heat, an indication of uncontrolled chemical reactions. The winery and the bridge began to grow within the military increase.

At 9:12, the explosive ammonium nitrate reaches a threshold and the ship then exploded, causing extensive destruction and damage around the port. The blast sent a huge 15-foot (4.5 m) wave is detected in almost 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of Texas. The blast obliterated close than 1,000 buildings on earth. The explosion destroyed the factory Grandcamp Monsanto Chemical Company and has led to inflammation of the refineries and storage tanks chemicals in the springs. Falling balls in the chain adds to the damage from burning, while anchoring the Grandcamp was launched in the city. Aircraft flying nearby landmarks detach their wings, forcing them out of the sky. Ten miles away, people were forced to kneel Galveston, windows were broken in Houston, Texas, 40 miles (60 km). People felt the shock 250 miles (400 km) away in Louisiana. The explosion caused nearly 6350 tons of steel from the ship in the air, some at supersonic speed. Official estimates of the damage amounted to a total of 567, but many victims were ashes burned or shredded, literally, and the official figure is considered an understatement. The volunteer department burned the town in Texas was killed in the blast initial anger and fire, first aid, other sectors were first unable to reach the disaster site.

The first explosion engulfed the cargo ammonium nitrate in the High Flyer. The crew spent hours trying to cut the High Flyer free from its anchorage and other obstacles, but without success. After the smoke was out of control for over five hours and fifteen hours after the explosion aboard the Grandcamp, the High Flyer exploded near the demolition of the B. SS Wilson Keene, killing at least two other people and increased damage to the port and other ships with more fire and shrapnel.

Magnitude of the disaster

One of the anchors Grandcamp Texas City Memorial Park

The Texas City disaster is generally considered the worst industrial accident in U.S. history. Witness the scene from images of fairly recent airstrike in Bari in 1943 and more widespread devastation in Nagasaki. The official death toll was 581. Among the dead, 405 were identified and 63 were never identified. These 63 were placed in a memorial cemetery in the northern part of Texas City, near Moses Lake. The remaining 113 people were classified as missing, no identifiable parts were ever found. This includes firefighters who were on board when Grandcamp exploded. There is some speculation there may be hundreds more lost life, but many, like the sailors to visit, non-census workers and their families, and countless travelers. However, there were some survivors as close as 70 feet (21 m) from the wharf. Victims' bodies quickly filled the local morgue, and many bodies have been built in the gymnasium of the local high school to identification of family members.

More than 5,000 people were injured, with 1784 admitted to the hospital in the area of ​​twenty-one. More 500 houses were destroyed and hundreds damaged, leaving 2000 homeless. The port was destroyed and many businesses were destroyed or burned. More than 1,100 vehicles were damaged and 362 cars are obliteratedhe damage estimated at $ 100 million.

A two-ton anchor was thrown Grandcamp 1.62 miles (2.61 km) and found 10 feet (3 m) of the crater. Now rests in a memorial park. The other main anchor of 5 tons was launched 1 / 2 mile (800 m) at the entrance of the dam in the city of Texas, and is based in a Texas Memorial at the entrance. The burning wreckage burning everything in miles, including dozens of oil storage tanks and product tanks chemicals. The nearby city of Galveston, Texas, was covered with a mist that left a fatty deposit on each surface exposed to the outside.

Firefighting injuries

Firefighters Memorial

Some of the deaths and damage in Texas City is due to the destruction and subsequent recorded several chemical plants (including Monsanto and Union Carbide), oil storage facilities, and others near the explosion. Twenty-seven twenty-eight members of the department of Texas City Fire Department Volunteers and three members of the fire in Texas City Heights Volunteer Department were killed after trying to extinguish the fire on the first ship of what was one of the worst tragedies 20th century fire. More firefighters died in a single time that he had died in a fire ever in the nation. [Citation needed] A fireman, Fred Dowdy, who had not responded to the initial call firefighters coordinate community of up to 60 miles (100 km). Eventually, 200 firefighters came from as far away as Los Angeles. Fires still burning as a result cataclysmic events a week after the disaster and the recovery of the bodies took almost a month. The four firefighters in the Texas city jail were twisted and burned.

A positive outcome of the Texas City disaster was the widespread response to disaster planning to help to organize the plant, the local response, and regional emergency.

Reactions and reconstruction

The disaster gained national media attention communication. Offers of help came from all over the country. Several funds have been established to handle donations, especially the Relief Fund of Texas City, created by Mayor Curtis Trahan. A major fundraising efforts for the city and the victims of the disaster was organized by Sam Maceo, one of two brothers who ran organized crime in Galveston at the time. Maceo held a large-scale use on the island has some of the most famous artists of the time including Phil Harris, Frank Sinatra, and Ann Sheridan. At the end of the Texas Relief Fund of the city has raised more than $ 1 million ($ 10.1 billion in current terms). Payment of fire insurance claims reached nearly 4 million ($ 37.7 billion in current terms).

A few days after the disaster, large companies losing the facilities in the explosions have announced plans to rebuild in Texas City, and even expand their operations. Some companies implement policies to maintain to all hourly workers who had worked in the destroyed facilities with plans to use in reconstruction. In all industrial restructuring costs estimated have been about $ 100 million (954 million dollars in current terms).

Court Case

Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed with the Following disaster. Many of them were combined into Dalehite Elizabeth, et al. c. United States under the Federal Tort recently approved (FTCA). On April 13, 1950, the district court said the United States responsible for a long list of acts of negligence by the lack of committee and by 168 organizations listed, and their representatives in the manufacturing, packaging and labeling of ammonium nitrate, consisting of errors in the transport, disposal storage, loading, and fire prevention, which led to the explosion and the subsequent slaughter. On June 10, 1952, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision, saying the United States retains the right to exercise their "discretion" in the vital national issues. The Supreme Court upheld that decision (346 USA 15 June 8, 1953), in a note 4-3, noting that the district court did not jurisdiction under federal law to find the U.S. government responsible for "negligent planning decisions" that have been validly delegated several departments and agencies. In summary, the FTCA clearly exempts "failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty" and the court found that All allegations in this case were discretionary in nature.

In a stinging dissent, three judges held that, under the FTCA, "Congress has defined damage caused by the Government as analogous to a private person, "ie, when the tasks not related to administration. In this case," a policy adopted in the exercise of discretion was held immune casually by the heads of the details, "and certainly private person liable for such acts. Also should be noted that a private person remains at a higher level of care when performing "inherently dangerous" acts as the transport and storage explosives.

According to Melvin Belli in his book ready for the applicant! (1956), Congress acted to provide some compensation after that the courts refused to do so. The decision was finally Dalehite "Call" to Congress, where the relief is granted through legislation Private (Public Law 378, 69 Stat. 707 (1955)). When the request was processed in 1957, 1394 prices, totaling nearly $ 17 million have been done.

See also

Houston portal

Disasters of ammonium nitrate

The Halifax explosion

Notes

Ab ^ Texas City, Texas, disaster

^ Stephens (1997), p.100.

^ "The fireworks, explosives and fireworks." Greg Goebel / Advameg, Inc.. Http: / / www.faqs.org / docs / air / ttpyro.html.

^ No. 1138: the disaster in Texas City

^ This day in history: the explosion of fertilizer kills 581 in Texas

Abcd ^ Stephens (1997), p. 104105.

^ McComb, David G. (2000). Galveston: A History and a guide. Austin: University of Texas Press. p. 176. ISBN 0292720491. http://books.google.com/books?id=mecTAAAAYAAJ.

Minutaglio, Bill (2003). City on Fire: the explosion that devastated a town in Texas and led to a historic legal battle. Harper. p. 201. ISBN 978-0060959913. http://books.google.com/books?id=gO127UoMcmQC.

^ Belli (1965), pp 8385

References

Belli, Melvin (1965). Ready for the plaintiff!. Popular Library. http://books.google.com/books?id=xccJQAAACAAJ.

Minutaglio, Bill (2003). City on fire. Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-018541-4.

Stephens, Hugh W. (1997). The disaster in Texas City, 1947. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=GCK4l6YaiwcC.

Texas City, Texas, disaster, April 16, 17, 1947. Dallas Prevention Fire and the Texas Engineering Office, National Fire Underwriters. 1947. http://www.local1259iaff.org/report.htm.

Coordinates: 292239 945329 / 94.89139W 29.3775N / 29.3775, -94.89139

External Links

1947 Exposure to Web Texas City Disaster Moore Memorial Public Library in Texas City

Title, The New York Times, April 17, 1947, explosion and fire wreck Texas 15 000 City, 300 to 1.200 thousands dead, wounded, Area homeless Coast Rocked, Damage million

Texas City Disaster of 1947 photographs of the Moore Memorial Public Library, hosted by the Portal the history of Texas

Handbook of Texas entry

The explosion 50 years later, still remembers the Texas city

Information and photos of local destruction

The opinion of the Supreme Court, c. Dalehite United States, 1953

Report of the U.S. Coast Guard

Joint Council and fire protection engineering, Texas and the National Fire Insurance

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Categories: Accidental explosion disasters in the United States | 1947 disasters | 1947 in the United States | Disasters in Texas | Fires in Texas | Law of negligence | century 20 explosionsHidden categories: Articles that may contain original research since September 2007 | All articles that may contain research original | Articles lacking in-text citations from January 2010 | All articles lacking in-text citations | All articles | Related articles of April 2008 About the Author

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