PHOTOS: On Tuesday, Lebanon’s capital city of Beirut was rocked by a massive explosion at the city’s port. Thousands were injured and at least 100 people are known to have died so far. While citizens and government officials there are still evaluating the extent of the damage, others are pointing out similarities between this disaster and one that happened in a small Texas town in the 1940s. On April 16, 1947, a French-owned cargo shipped called the SS Grandcamp exploded in the docks of Texas City, according to the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA).
The ship was carrying ammonium nitrate, the same chemical used in the Oklahoma City bombing and the chemical believed to have caused the Beirut explosion. The chemical has been used in wartime explosives but is also used to make fertilizer.