Flooded chemical plant ‘set to explode’

A FLOODED chemical plant in a small town outside Houston is poised to explode following the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey.

While the floodwaters started dropping across much of the area as Harvey was downgraded to a tropical depression, another crisis emerged at the Arkema plant about 25 miles away.

A spokeswoman for the 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,” said Janet Smith, spokeswoman for the French company.

The l ast of the plant’s employees evacuated on Tuesday and residents within 1.5 miles were told to leave.

Arkema outlined a worstcase scenario in 2014 that said potentially 1.1 million residents could be affected by such an event over a distance of 23 miles, according to information compiled by a non-profit group.

But the company said yesterday that a worst-case scenario was “very unlikely”.

The death toll resulting from Hurricane Harvey has reached at least 31 and the fire department in Houston is searching thousands of flooded homes to ensure “no people are left behind”. QUIZ ANSWERS: 1. Three. 2. Buffalo Bill. 3. Dry white wine. 4. Yuri Gagarin. 5. Eight. 6. Monday. Link: KNIGHT.