Phoenix, AZ -- Neighbors thought it was a bomb. An electric water heater was launched over 500 feet early one morning. According to Plumb-Biz plumbers in the area, the water heater had been tinkered with by a handyman. We're told that the home was so badly damaged that it had to be razed. Incedentally, The tank landed across the street from a school. A couple of hours later and kiddos may have been in that cross walk where it landed! For local news coverage of the blast, visit 3TV in Phoenix.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- A Kannapolis home is in pieces after an electric water heater exploded inside early Thursday.

During their investigation, they found part of the water heater nearly 70 feet away from the building – it shot up through the roof, over a building and landed in a driveway. Debris was scattered more than 300 feet from the residence. . . Here's the rest of the WSCOTV.com news story. Note: Be sure to check ou the slide show at the end of the story.

Mythbusters did their own water heater explosion for national TV. Here's a clip from YouTube.

BURIEN (near Seattle) -- Inside the Taqueria Zacatecas Mexican restaurant, Jorge Herrera was busy preparing meals when the walls suddenly blew apart.

A block away, at Burien Toyota, sales manager Bobby Lynn was holding his regular Friday morning sales meeting when the building began to shake.

And at the Carniceria Zacatecas butcher shop, Susana Randall was buying meat when she heard an explosion.

"There was glass, everything flying all over the place," Randall said. "I feel very lucky that I wasn't hurt."

And so it was yesterday morning, when a hot water heater exploded and blasted through the roof of Cuautla Video. rest of story . . .

Avon High School "Just as they took their break, Ms. Brennon indicated that they heard a “big boom” and immediately ran for the door fearing a secondary gas explosion. . In order for the vessel to fail catastrophically with force sufficient to cause the building structural damage, the temperature of the water in the vessel had to be over 212 F in order for the water to flash into steam.  The vessel was equipped with a pressure-temperature safety valve that should have been designed to prevent the vessel from achieving excessive pressures and temperatures.  The stamping on the valve was not be found in the debris, however the valve was sent to the National Board lab for testing. ". . see full story.

Spencer Oklahoma At quarter past noon that Tuesday, disaster struck Star Elementary. Within seconds, six students and one teacher were dead, most crushed to death against a concrete wall. Forty­two others, adults and children, were injured, some severely. more.  . Another story