There are no details yet about who, what, or why as I write this at noon, but the clips speak for themselves.

https://twitter.com/Doranimated/status/1290671746039844865

pic.twitter.com/VHBLRAAxDu

— Nabih (@nabihbulos) August 4, 2020

Moment that the second explosion hit #Beirut Lebanon. Many houses damaged, injuries reported.

First was at Port. This is closer to downtown pic.twitter.com/6DdmgQFriD

— Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) August 4, 2020

Close to ground zero in this video of the explosion in Beirut. pic.twitter.com/cjgZQ4NBG7

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) August 4, 2020

holy shi…. pic.twitter.com/J3mxE6Bvja

— Aurora Intel (@AuroraIntel) August 4, 2020

My brother sent me this, we live 10 KM away from the explosion site and the glass of our bldgs got shattered. #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/MPByBc673m

— Abir Ghattas (@AbirGhattas) August 4, 2020

Huge blast in Beirut just now! pic.twitter.com/hId8JhZMKV

— Tobias Schneider (@tobiaschneider) August 4, 2020

The reason so many cameras were trained on that area when the bomb went off is that there were actually two explosions. The first, smaller one took place at the port, according to reporter Joyce Karam. Beirut residents were filming that when the big boom happened not far away, inside the city itself. Could it be that a fire from the first explosion spread to something combustible, or is a bomb the only conceivable explanation?

Prime Minister Saad Hariri is reportedly okay. Anytime something explodes in Beirut, Hezbollah is the first suspect; Karam notes that the verdict of a UN-backed tribunal into the assassination of Hariri’s father, former prime minister Rafiq Hariri, is expected within days. Maybe this is Hezbollah either sending a statement about the tribunal or defiantly trying to take out the younger Hariri before it’s formally found guilty of killing the elder one.

Stand by for updates. I’m curious to know what generated that distinctive red smoke.

Update: The aftermath of the shockwave.

#Beirut streets now. pic.twitter.com/8mZSXTLNQI

— Samar Saeed/سمر سعيد (@Samarsaeed) August 4, 2020

Update: For what it’s worth: “The state-run National News Agency reported that a fire had broken out in a fireworks storehouse at the port before the explosion. But it was not immediately clear what had caused such a large blast.”

Update: A former BBC correspondent says she felt the shockwave from the blast in Cyprus. That’s … 150 miles away.

Update: An interesting point by Noah Pollak:

Beirut explosion is in area known to be used by Hezbollah for its long-range precision-guided missile project, which Israel publicly calls a red line. I have no specific knowledge, but would be surprised if explosives that detonated were not associated w/ that project. 1/

— Noah Pollak (@NoahPollak) August 4, 2020

He speculates that one of Iran’s many enemies may have targeted Hezbollah’s weapons depot in the belief that Biden will soon be president and the U.S. will shift back towards appeasing Iran. If that’s so, efforts to disarm Iran now may get … aggressive.

Just massive destruction this afternoon:

I am getting a lot of videos from the ground and from the family WhatsApp group.
I will be posting them here.
Damage around the explosion area. #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/DJ4zPB8nst

— Abir Ghattas (@AbirGhattas) August 4, 2020

Update: Nuclear experts are assuring people that, as enormous as the blast was, it wasn’t atomic. That should have been clear enough from the lack of a flash in the clips, but there you have it.

Update: Again, for what it’s worth:

Lebanese Army source just told me no cause confirmed yet for explosions in Beirut but possibly a "container of fireworks was burning and the fire spread to reach a nitrate warehouse that led to this massive explosions."

— Abby Sewell (@sewella) August 4, 2020

Update: Seems awfully coincidental:

BREAKING — The Beirut explosion caused by highly explosive sodium nitrate confiscated from a ship more than a year ago and were placed in one of the warehouses located in the port — Sources to LBCI

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) August 4, 2020

Update: The Lebanese government does seem to be sticking to the story that this was an accident. A really, really big one:

Lebanon’s pm says 2750 TONS of stored ammonium nitrate (like a huge fertilizer bomb) ripped through Beirut. Now concerns about fumes in a city with blown out windows and doors.

— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) August 4, 2020

Reportedly more than 50 are dead and 3,000 injured.