Blasts rock Texas chemical plant as Harvey moves east
houston — Fires and two explosions rocked a flooded Houston-area chemical plant early Thursday, sending up a plume that federal authorities described as ‘incredibly dangerous’ and adding a potential new hazard to the aftermath of Harvey.
The blasts at the Arkema plant, about 25 miles northeast of Houston, also ignited a 30- to 40-foot flame. Local officials insisted that the explosion produced no toxins.
The blasts happened as floodwaters from days of relentless rain began to recede and the threat of major dangers from the storm shifted to a region near the TexasLouisiana line.
Fire authorities said the blasts were small and that some deputies suffered irritated eyes from the smoke, but they emphasized that the materials that caught fire shortly after midnight were not toxic.
At a news conference in Washington, D.C., the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Brock Long, told reporters that the plume was hazardous. In the largely rural area surrounding the plant, officials said they went door to door to explain the situation and called on residents to evacuate, but leaving was not mandatory.
The plant, in Crosby, lost power after the storm, leaving it without refrigeration for chemicals that become volatile as temperatures rise. Arkema shut down the plant before Harvey made landfall.
In Houston, the rescues continued apace. The fire department planned a block-by-block search on Thursday of thousands of flooded homes. Assistant Fire Chief Richard Mann said rescuers would en- sure that no one is left behind in the floodwaters.
Farther east, Beaumont and Port Arthur struggled with rising water after being pounded with what remained of the weakening storm.
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.
Beaumont and Port Arthur worked to evacuate residents. Port Arthur found itself increasingly isolated as floodwaters swamped most major roads out of the city. More than 500 people — along with dozens of dogs, cats, a lizard and a monkey — took shelter at the Max Bowl bowling alley, general manager Jeff Tolliver said. “The monkey was a little surprising, but we’re trying to help,” he said.
Floodwaters also toppled two oil storage tanks in South Texas, spilling almost 30,000 gallons (114,000 liters) of crude. It was not immediately clear whether any of the spilled oil was recovered. More damage to the oil industry infrastructure is expected to emerge as floodwaters recede. —