Houston flood: Explosions at Arkema chemical plant

Explosions have been heard coming from a chemical
plant near the flooded US city of Houston.
Emergency officials reported two blasts and black
smoke issuing from the Arkema plant at Crosby.
During heavy rainfall from Hurricane Harvey, the
complex lost the ability to refrigerate chemical
compounds that need to be kept cool.
There was no way to prevent an explosion, the
company had warned earlier.
Ahead of the explosions, one police officer who was
helping secure the site was taken to hospital after
inhaling fumes, while others admitted themselves to
hospital as a precaution.
In a statement, the company said: "At approximately
2am CDT [07:00 GMT], we were notified by the Harris
County Emergency Operations Center of two explosions
and black smoke coming from the Arkema Inc plant in
Crosby, Texas.
"Local officials had previously established an
evacuation zone in an area 1.5 miles from our plant,
based on their assessment of the situation.
"We want local residents to be aware that product is
stored in multiple locations on the site, and a threat of
additional explosion remains. Please do not return to
the area within the evacuation zone until local
emergency response authorities announce it is safe to
do so."
At least 33 people have been killed in eastern Texas in
the aftermath of the storm, which the US National
Weather Service has now downgraded to a tropical
depression.
Heavy rainfall is expected from Louisiana to Kentucky
over the next three days, and flood warnings remain in
effect for south-east Texas and parts of south-west
Louisiana.
US energy supplies have been hit, as oil companies
shut down refineries and a major pipeline in the
Houston area.
Firefighters will begin a door-to-door search of badly
flooded areas of Houston on Thursday, to rescue
survivors who are still stranded and recover the bodies
of those who have died.
"We'll be doing block-by-block, door-by-door search of
streets... to make sure there are no people we've left
behind," Richard Mann, the city's assistant fire chief,
was quoted as saying by the Houston Chronicle
newspaper.
"This will be a one- to two-week-long process to make
sure we address all those areas that have been... most
impacted."
What happened at the chemical plant?
The Arkema chemical plant, 21 miles (34km) from
Houston, shut down its production on Friday, before the
storm made landfall.
But 40in (102cm) of rainfall in the area flooded the site
and cut off its power, the company said in a
statement. Back-up generators were also flooded.
The facility manufactures organic peroxides,
compounds that are used in everything from making
pharmaceuticals to construction materials, which can
become dangerous at higher temperatures.
"Any fire will probably resemble a large gasoline fire,"
CEO Richard Rowe told Reuters news agency before
the reports of explosions. "The fire will be explosive
and intense."
He said the black smoke produced would irritate skin,
eyes and lungs.
"The high water that exists on site, and the lack of
power, leave us with no way to prevent it."
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The fire is expected to be mostly contained to the site
itself but residents have been evacuated in a 1.5 mile
radius around the plant as a precaution.
The last remaining workers at the site were evacuated
on Tuesday.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a
temporary ban on flights near the plant.
How are rescue efforts progressing?
Parts of Texas have been hit by more than 50in of
rainfall since Hurricane Harvey landed on 25 August,
setting new records before it was downgraded to a
tropical storm and, late on Wednesday, to a tropical
depression.
Rescue efforts continued overnight. Thousands of
people have been rescued from the floodwaters, and
more than 32,000 people are being housed in
emergency shelters.
Large parts of Houston, the fourth most populous city
in the US, remain under water.
The city is also a key energy hub. The storm and its
subsequent flooding has knocked out about a quarter of
the country's refining capacity, sending petrol prices to
a two-year high.
The Colonial Pipeline, which carries more than 100
million gallons of petrol, heating oil and aviation fuel
between Houston and the East Coast each day, has
been shut.
Port Arthur, about 80 miles east of Houston, was also
severely flooded. Mayor Derrick Freeman, posting on
Facebook , said the entire city was under water, and
appealed for anyone who owned a boat to help.
Details of some of those who died in Texas have
emerged:
In Beaumont, north-west of Port Arthur, rescue
teams saved an 18-month old girl found clinging to
her dead mother in the floodwaters
In Harris County, the bodies of six people - a
couple and their four great-grandchildren - were
recovered from a submerged van
A married couple drowned when their truck was
swept away while they were on the phone to
emergency services asking for help, the Associated
Press reports
"To those Americans who have lost loved ones, all of
America is grieving with you, and our hearts are joined
with yours forever," President Donald Trump said in a
speech a day after seeing the effects of the flooding
during a trip to Texas.
On Tuesday, Houston implemented a curfew to prevent
looting of abandoned homes. Port Arthur followed suit
on Wednesday.
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What happens next?
An additional 10,000 members of the National Guard
were said to be on their way to Texas to join the
rescue efforts, adding to the 14,000 troops already
deployed.
Harvey was the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in
more than 50 years when it first made landfall at
Corpus Christi, 220 miles south-west of Houston last
week.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Texas Governor
Greg Abbott said the state could need more than
$125bn (£97bn) from the federal government to help it
recover.
And he warned "the worst is not yet over", as flooding
is expected to continue for several days.
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Mr Abbott has accepted an offer of aid from the
Mexican government, which has suggested it is willing
to despatch troops with food, water and medicine - as
it did in 2005 when New Orleans was devastated by
Hurricane Katrina.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said it was "very
generous of Mexico to offer their help at this very, very
challenging time for our citizens down in Texas".
The move comes amid tension between the two
countries over President Donald Trump's repeated
promises to build a vast border wall on the southern US
border to keep out illegal immigrants and criminals,
and to make Mexico pay for it.
In a separate development, Mexico's Red Cross has
sent 33 English-speaking volunteers to Houston to work
in shelters in the city.

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