Toxic blaze fears rise as floodwaters recede

HARVEY’S floods started dropping and the storm weakened yesterday, but major dangers remained for the US Gulf Coast area, including the threat of an explosion at a stricken Texas chemical plant and major flooding farther east near the Texas-Louisiana line.

The scope of the devas- tation caused by the hurricane yesterday came into sharper focus, and the deluge of rain began yielding up more bodies.

The confirmed death toll climbed to at least 31, including six family members — four of them children — whose bodies were pulled Wednesday from a van that had been swept off a Houston bridge into a bayou.

“Unfortunately, it seems that our worst thoughts are being realised,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said after the van that disappeared over the weekend was found in 3m of muddy water.

As the water receded, Houston’s fire department said it would begin a block-by-block search of thousands of flooded homes.

While conditions in Hous- ton appeared to improve, another crisis emerged at a chemical plant about 40km northeast of the city.

A spokeswoman for the Arkema Inc plant in Crosby, Texas, said the flooded facility had lost power and backup generators, leaving it without refrigeration for chemicals that become volatile as the temperature rises.

“The fire will happen. It will resemble a gasoline fire. It will be explosive and intense in nature,” a spokeswoman said. Residents within 2.4km have been told to leave.

Arkema has previously outlined a worst-case scenario in which 1.1 million residents could be affected by such an event over a distance of 23 miles.