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First rainfall since Tianjin explosion leaves city covered in mysterious white foam via @shanghaiisthttp://t.co/QE8yHLOpJi —

Simone Pieranni (@simopieranni) August 18, 2015

BEIJING – Within minutes of the immense chemical explosions that sent apocalyptic fireballs into the night sky over Tianjin, Zhou Haisen, 23, was making arrangements to leave town. He was terrified that poisonous gases would reach his apartment six miles from the scene, and his fears were swiftly reinforced by posts on Chinese social media. So he and his parents fled to his grandmother’s house an hour’s drive away.

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Since last Wednesday’s still-unexplained accident, which killed at least 114 people and injured more than 700, the Chinese government has repeatedly insisted that effective measures are being taken to ensure that the air in Tianjin remains safe. But when rain fell on Tuesday, the city’s streets began to foam, and people reported burning sensations on their lips and elbows.

An environmental monitoring official denied that those phenomena had anything to do with the explosions, Chinese news outlets reported. Even so, Zhou will not be going home anytime soon.

“Of course, we don’t believe the government about the air,” he said in a telephone interview. “They’re always unwilling to tell the truth. I don’t want to bet my life on their words.”