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Actually, reports said the problem is that people ran to their windows to see what had happened. Then 3 minutes later about 4,000 buildings had their windows blown in. Three minutes at 5 seconds per mile = 36 miles away.

I have read elsewhere that people in London were able to read their newspapers at night from the light of Tungusku. I also read that a boloid strike in the Amazon, I think in the 1930s, flattened an area about 50 miles in diameter.

Three minutes at 5 seconds per mile = 36 miles away.

I can believe that, factoring in horizontal as well as vertical separation.

Actually, reports said the problem is that people ran to their windows to see what had happened. Then 3 minutes later about 4,000 buildings had their windows blown in.

I wonder how many of the injuries were caused by that reaction.

You can view a nice compilation of videos by Alexander Zaytsev. Outdoor Example. Indoor example. Another indoor example.

Separately, it's amazing the popularity of dash cams in Russia. It's apparently a defense against the prevalence of insurance fraud.

I have read elsewhere that people in London were able to read their newspapers at night from the light of Tungusku.

Not likely.

However, the Tunguska bolide, which arrived in 1908 about 1500 miles due east of Chelyabinsk, is estimated to have had a yield of 3 to 30 megatons. Also, it exploded at a much lower altitude and knocked down about 80 million trees. The few eyewitness accounts describe an event resembling a thermonuclear attack (minus the fallout, and other radiation effects, etc). If there had been a metropolis below, it would have been toast.

I also read that a boloid strike in the Amazon, I think in the 1930s, flattened an area about 50 miles in diameter.

The media are claiming the Chelyabinsk object is the biggest since Tunguska. For that reason, it would be neat if there really was a 'Brazilian Tunguska Event'. Of course, on the other hand, it would imply that such events are about twice as likely as commonly believed ...

That 36 mile estimate means it was some distance away, as well as 12 to 18 miles up. :’) The glow from Tunguska’s aftermath hung in the sky for some time, quite amazing consequences from a simple pile of space crud.

Thanks for bringing up the 1930s strike in the Amazon (or somewhere in the rain forest, perhaps the Orinoco Basin), the full extent of the damage is not known, probably was large, maybe not 50 miles.

There was also a strike in Greenland just in the past decade (or maybe a couple of decades, I’m behind in my email), and I’d posted recently about the Lake Michigan strike in the teens of the 20th century.

Bolivian impact, Tunguska and other Russian impacts, and, uh, I forget... but related anyway...