New cars are heavily damaged at a port next to the warehouse that exploded. DAN HAINAN/FOR CHINADAILY

Catastrophic explosions happened at midnight on Aug 12 in Tianjin where large amounts of toxic chemicals were stored in warehouses including around 700 tons of sodium cyanide.

162 people died including 96 firefighters, 11 policemen and 55 residents nearby. The eleven missing include eight firefighters and three residents. Hundreds remain in hospital.

People are shocked to know how dangerous the neighborhood they lived in was as few people even knew about the existence of the hazardous chemicals before the blasts.