One blogger says that he saw two meteors streak past the Buncefield oil depot only a minute after the first explosion on Sunday morning. Could another one have hit?

Times journalist Ruth Gledhill saw nothing, but she certainly heard the blast. Others saw the fireball and plume of smoke and decided that a plane must have crashed on its way into Luton airport.

As firefighters finally master the flames at the Hertfordshire depot and Hemel Hempstead gradually returns to normal, the weekend drama is being relived online through web diaries, newsgroups and community weblogs. The web has also become a first port of call for worried residents looking for advice.

Some of the most detailed eyewitness accounts have been compiled by local paper the Hemel Gazette.

Michelle Clarke, one of the thousands evacuated, writes: "I had to leave my cat behind, and can't wait to see him again..." Lewis, presumably among the more junior evacuees, explains: "My nanny woke up at 6.03 am and shouted 'earthquake' ... when I looked at my bed it was diagonal."

As well as the aforementioned meteor shower theory, there are less far-fetched insider accounts of the blast on the specially-created Buncefield.com.

A user who signs himself DB writes: "My stepdad was working on site as the place exploded. In his opinion the whole incident seems to have been caused by accident - possibly a malfunction in some equipment.

"Seconds before the explosion he was about to hook up his tanker but a malfunction in equipment closed down the fuel delivery system. Within seconds he sees a haze of fumes, shortly followed by another employee shouting to everyone to "get out of there". A few seconds later he heard a whoosh noise shortly followed by an intense deep bang which forced him backwards making him unsteady on his feet..."

There's an interesting minute-by-minute account on The England Project's blog which captures the confusion as the drama unfolded. Ruth Gledhill, The Times Religion Correspondent, explains how the explosions gave her an early wake-up call for church.

Many of the accounts were accompanied by hundreds of stunning photographs.

The BBC's live early coverage of the blast consisted largely of grainy shots taken by locals on their mobiles. Many pictures taken by amateurs subsequently found their way on to the pages of newspapers.

Jacquie Stearn from Cirencester, whose parents live in Kings Langley, is one of many who have voiced their concern about the effect of the sooty fallout on their vegetable plots. The Environment Agency says that there is no significant long-term risk but has closed off a drinking water borehole as a precaution.

The Met Office is tracking the movement of the smoke plume which appears to have swung east back over London in the past few hours. Pilots who have flown the Met Office's research aircraft through the smoke report that it is not toxic and largely consists of carbon particles.

The Health Protection Agency is keeping locals updated with information to stay safe and has put together a handy Q&A on its possible effects.

The smoke from the blaze has been picked up from space in these dazzling images beamed down regularly from Europe's EnviSat. The explosion even registered on the British Geological Society's seismograph.

The disruption caused to surrounding schools, roads and local facilities is being monitored by Hertfordshire County Council and Total, the company which owns the plant, is doing its best to reassure locals that everything is under control.

The explosions sparked immediate conspiracy rumours - ranging from a copycat 9/11, to UFOs to Armageddon. Although quickly dismissed as nonsense it is likely to linger long after the flames, with even a local vicar getting in on the act.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Alex Rider exclusive: Incident in Nice
• Green & confused: do energy-saving bulbs work?
• Let’s skip lunch, say the hungry generation