How Powerful Was The Explosion In Beirut?
Using videos and photographs that emerged in the aftermath of the incident, a team from the University of Sheffield estimated the strength of the explosion to be around 1.5 kilotons in TNT equivalent. That would make it one of the most powerful non-nuclear explosions in history at around one tenth the strength of the atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese City of Hiroshima. It is far more powerful than any conventional military weapon.
The GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast (also known as “the mother of all bombs) is the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in military use. Designed to be dropped from a C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft, its kiloton yield is 0.011 by comparison. Its use made headlines in 2017 when it was dropped on an ISIS tunnel complex in the Achin District of Afghanistan.