The ability of the CFD code AutoReaGas to simulate a gas explosion in two linked vessels was investigated. These explosions present an anomalous destructive power because both peak pressures and rates of pressure rise are much higher than those generated in single vessel explosions. A fair agreement was observed between the computed results and experimental data taken from literature. Moreover, the computed values of the turbulence intensity at varying diameters of the connecting pipe demonstrate that turbulence induced in both vessels represent a major factor affecting the explosion violence. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.