April 08, 2015

G is for Gas Explosion


My theme for my 2015 A to Z Challenge came from my Disaster Crimes series. Disasters are a theme in each story, so it got me thinking about all the disasters that occur from natural disasters to manmade disasters.

Today’s disaster is...
GAS EXPLOSIONS

GAS EXPLOSIONS are the result of gas leaks in close proximity to ignition sources. Gases like natural gas, methane, propane, and butane are commonly used to heat houses and buildings, which increases the risk of leaks and explosions.

Gas explosions can also happen in mines and even sewer systems. Basically anywhere that gas pipelines are located.

FACT: The deadliest railway accident in Russian and Soviet history happened when a leaking natural gas pipeline exploded from the sparks created by two passenger trains passing each other. 575 people were killed and over 800 were injured.

In September 2014, a series of underground gas explosions tore apart a main road in Taiwan. The explosions were so powerful that vehicles and people launched into the air. A car was found on the roof of a three-story building, and two people were blown to the roof of a four-story building.


Disaster Crimes Tidbit: Earthquakes can cause damage to gas pipelines, resulting in leaks...so of course there’s a gas explosion in my sequel to Hurricane Crimes and it’s a thrilling scene involving one of my characters, but I’m not going to reveal whether it’s Beth or Donovan in that blast. Sorry!



Disasters:
D: Drought and Dust Storm
E: Earthquake
F: Flood
G: Gas Explosion


I'm a member of Tremp's Troops!

111 comments:

  1. We don't have gas where I live thank goodness, It must be awful to be involved in one.. Well written with pictures to match.
    Yvonne.

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    1. Fire is one of my fears, so the thought of this is equally frightening.

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  2. A Gas Explosion is the disaster that scares me the most so far.

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    1. Maybe that's because it's not a natural disaster, but a manmade one?

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  3. What horrible tragedies. :( Our town will soon be installing underground pipeline for natural gas. It kind of freaks me out. #sighs...

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    1. Underground pipelines are ideal for many reasons, but after writing this post...I can understand why it freaks you out.

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  4. Gas in general is scary.

    I used to work at a nursing facility; the parent company owned several. When our CEO and his wife went on vacation, her mom stayed with the children. They returned to find that all had perished from some kind of problem with the heating that filled the house with carbon dioxide.

    The renamed one of the facilitys as a "memorial" and I always thought it was the saddest thing in the world.

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    1. It is.

      Oh my goodness! That is terribly sad! :(

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  5. Yeah, those explosions can be downright frightening! Especially since they can happen almost anywhere or at anytime! I remember one happened underneath an old church close to where we used to live in Wisconsin.

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    1. You're right. So far, it sounds like everyone is mostly scared of this disaster...one that is not caused by nature.

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  6. Gas explosions are especially freaky, just like everything else we can't control!

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    1. They are. Anything can go wrong with a pipeline or gas tank, etc.

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  7. I feel like there was one on the outskirts of town a couple years back. We could hear it from where we were..

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  8. I haven't had any direct experience with this disaster and I'm crossing my fingers that I never do. This one is terrifying.

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    1. I'm crossing my fingers for the both of us that we never do.

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    2. Me either, thank goodness. Scary.

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  9. Yeah, this one scares me. So many of the other disasters feel somehow farther away, but NOT this guy. Yikes!

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  10. Gas explosions = NOT FUN!

    They sure can be super deadly.

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  11. I was watching a news clip of a tornado in Oklahoma. It looked like it caused a few gas explosions, which seemed to do more damage than the tornado itself!

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    1. Tornadoes do damage in one specific area, but an explosion could cause damage for miles if it's a really big one.

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  12. I have a healthy respect for fire; having lost a home to one. Since fires seem to almost always accompany explosions I'm one of those who runs first, asks questions later!

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    1. So do I. I almost lost my childhood home to a brush fire started by an arson.

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  13. Yikes I agree with others, this is the scariest one yet. Wow how scary.

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    1. That's interesting. I might have to do a poll at the end of this challenge.

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  14. When I think about gas explosions, I'm reminded of the amazingly true story of every member of a church choir being away from the disaster in 1950. It would seem like an urban legend, but it's not:

    http://www.snopes.com/luck/choir.asp

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    1. Wow! I'll have to read about that. Thanks for the link, Carrie-Anne!

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  15. It's frightening to think of how many gas lines run under our cities. I hope they have excellent maintenance!

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  16. In my writer's mind, I see these explosions on the news and I wonder...did someone just off a mole and call it an accidental explosion? Yep, the writer sees a conspiracy behind every report.

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  17. Just the other day a house blew up about ten miles away from my home, due to gas line. We felt the impact and heard the explosion all the way at my house. It felt like someone drove into our house with a tractor trailer. I can not even imagine being close to where it really happened!! It was super scary.

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    1. Oh my goodness! That's scary. Especially when it happens so close.

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  18. Those two gas explosions sound terrible - such devastation. We do seem to be able to create unfortunate situations that result in very big bangs, don't we.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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  19. I can only imagine how that must be like. We had a terrible one in northern CA a few years ago. It blew up so many homes. There's still litigation going on with PG&E.

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  20. Yikes! That's definitely a scary disaster.

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  21. Another freaky disaster risk. I think it's the fact that they're unpredictable and no one can really plan for a gas explosion, that makes it even scarier. I'm very curious about what happens in Hurricane Crimes. Nice suspense, Chrys!

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    1. I agree. Oh, the gas explosion happens in the sequel. It's an exciting scene.

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  22. The Russian railway disaster is typical of a real freak accident.
    The unpredictability of a gas explosion is extra scary. At least you have ample warning before the avalanche, blizzard, cyclone, drought & earthquake hits!

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    1. Well, earthquakes can't be predicted. An an avalanche can happen suddenly too. But yes, the gas explosion is the one that can happen anytime, anywhere.

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    2. I think I was thinking along the line of tremors/rumbles before a big quake... isn't there some sort of warning sign?

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    3. Oh, I understand now. Sometimes you might feel a little tremble just before the real= quake hits in full force. But it's usually only long enough for you to say, "What was that?"

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  23. That had a leaky gas line here a few months back a evacuated everyone. Thankfully nothing went boom

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    1. That's good. We don't want anything to go boom.

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  24. Explosions! Now we're talking!
    On the serious side though, I have a friend who lives in Mexico. She was actually just caught in an explosion caused by a gas leak in her house. I don't know how explody the explosion actually was, but she called it an explosion. She's got no eyebrows as proof, so I don't know how that actually works.

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    1. Haha! I should have known that the guys would like the explosions. ;)

      Oh no! I hope she's okay!

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    2. Well, she's okay but she has to look for a new place because she can't stay there. She also said she singed 20% of her hair. How she came up with that number is beyond me. She's in good spirits, so things seem to be fine for now. Just very exciting there for a bit.

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    3. I'm glad she's okay, but I'm sorry that she has to find a new place. Maybe the doctors/medics she saw gave her those numbers. It's very good that her spirits are high. After something like this, most other people would be depressed and devastated. I hope everything turns out well for her.

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  25. We had a threat of a gas explosion at the end of our street not that long ago. A company had improperly stored diesel fuel, which led to several explosions, and firemen evacuated us. I had to convince my bf to leave, as he was convinced nothing would happen. As it turned out, he was right, but it was very scary.

    The fireman told us our entire street could have been wiped out by a fireball. Good times!

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    1. Improperly stored diesel fuel? Morons! Gosh, that could've turned out to be real devastation. Glad everything turned out okay!

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  26. Explosions are scary because of the damage they can do, especially to the human body. There's both blunt force trauma and burns.

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    1. You're right about that. The injuries are limitless.

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  27. Only gas explosions I've seen have been hubby making them in GTA games.

    ~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
    Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
    Story Dam
    Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

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    1. And I hope those are the only ones you ever see.

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  28. Sometimes man made disasters can be even scarier than natural ones!

    Best,
    Nilanjana

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  29. I've never been around a big gas explosion. But there sure have been some big ones over the years.

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    1. There have. I see them on the news all the time.

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  30. Yikes! On the roof of a third story building?!? Now I know why earthquake-laden California makes us install gas shut-off valves.

    Scribbles From Jenn - Visiting from the A to Z Challenge

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  31. Hi Chrys .. the thought of a gas explosion after some other disaster makes me cringe with horror... not something I want to experience ..

    Cheers Hilary

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  32. Now that is scary. I've only seen news stories about gas explosions but never experienced one.

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    1. Same here, Lidy. I hope I never do experience one.

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  33. Seems like there are gas explosions a lot. Makes me glad I live way out in the country.

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  34. Boy, gas explosions are scary. I'm glad I've never seen one.

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  35. A massive gas explosion after an earthquake terrifies me, since we have the New Madrid Faultlline just south of us. That would be horrible. And yes, I'm one of the paranoid neighbors who sniffs for gas whenever I go outside.

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  36. Gas explosions are scary. I lived in a house once where one of the guys also living there came inside, took off the cap of the gas tank of his chain saw near the furnace and caused a small explosion of fire. The furnace was drawn to the fumes of the gasoline and he was several feet away. I know this is a different type of gas, but still. . .

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    1. Gas explosions are still gas explosions and still scary.

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  37. That's a scary one. And gas leaks seem to always be the cover stories when other otherworldly problems arise...

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  38. There have been some pretty dramatic gas explosions recently. Smart of you to point out that they often fall on the heels of earthquakes. Nice tidbit about your book, too!

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  39. You don't have to have a gas line to have a gas explosion in a mine (or in other such places that gas is naturally generated). Natural gas is odorless so you don't even smell it--they put the sulfur smell into the gas so people will be aware of a leak.

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    1. That's true. I was just reporting what I learned in my research. :)

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  40. How unfortunate about the train accident. What are the chances that that would happen?

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    1. I'm not sure the chances of that happening. Or happening again. Hopefully it never does.

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  41. Now those are disasters! Incredible a car could be thrown that high and that far.

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  42. Hi Chrys,
    Yet another terrifying post.
    Well created, Keep writing
    Thanks for dropping by.
    Best Regards
    ~ Philip Ariel

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  43. I have to admit when hubby is getting gas for the car, I wonder if things will explode.

    betty

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    1. Oh dear! There have been explosions at gas stations...

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  44. Okay - skipping past to the comment section. I have gas heat and cooking, so this is a bit too scary and close to home. Ooh!

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  45. Yikes! We have a gas hob that you have to light a match to spark up - every time I do that I worry it could explode. This is definitely one of the scarier disasters.

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    1. When I visited my dad in Michigan, he had the same thing and I was afraid of an explosion too.

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  46. Wow. Terrible! It's such a frightening thing!

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  47. I've had patients involved in gas explosions in their homes and it is usually deadly as fire is always involved. Most times, they are trying to light up the gas cookeR, not knowing there's been a leak. Sad part, they rarely survive, the dehydration is was kills many of them.

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    1. The injuries caused my explosions of horrific. It is terrible and heart wrenching.

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  48. When they built the subway in LA they had to be careful around the La Brea tar pits. The sulfur gas underground was extremely dangerous. Now certain parts of the subway smell like rotton eggs ;)

    You can find me here:
    ClarabelleRant

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    1. Ew! And no one likes the smell of rotten eggs.

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  49. I have heard of gas explosions being more common in India where carelessness sometimes leads accidents even at home :(

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  50. My hubby worked in the oil fields for 23 years and they had to be very careful about this. I guess the biggest explosion was in Halifax in 1917 when 2 ships collided. One did have munitions on board so maybe it doesn't count but it was stronger than the H bomb

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    1. Stronger than the H bomb? Holy cow! That's intense.

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  51. Frightening stuff- thankfully nothing I've ever encountered.

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