Rocket explosions release far less energy than the total stored in propellants because the fuel mostly deflagrates rather than detonates. The N1 rocket stored ~7 GWh but yielded only 0.3-1 kt TNT (~0.35-1.2 GWh). Taking that into account….
https://x.com/robertgraham/status/20...428281090?s=20
A New Glenn rocket has 5.5 GWh of energy (first and second stage). The Little Boy bomb dropped on Hiroshima had 17.5 GWh of energy. The largest non-nuclear blast was Operation Minor Scale (1985) with 4.65 GWh of energy. The largest non-nuclear accidental blast was the Halifax explosion (1917) with 3.37 GWh of energy.
https://x.com/GauchoGregMoore/status...466616100?s=20
Some other big explosions:
1) Port Chicago disaster (1944, accidental, Bay Area/California, USA): 1.86–2.56 GWh (1.6–2.2 kt TNT equivalent from munitions).
2) Texas City disaster (1947, accidental, near Galveston, Texas, USA): 0.85–1.00 GWh (0.73–0.86 kt TNT equivalent from ammonium nitrate).
3) Beirut port explosion (2020, accidental, Mediterranean/Lebanon): 0.58–1.30 GWh (best estimate ~0.64 GWh) (0.5–1.12 kt TNT equivalent, centered around 0.55 kt).
4) N1 rocket explosion (1969, accidental, Baikonur, USSR): ~0.76 GWh (mean ~0.65 kt TNT equivalent from rocket propellants).