AP
Two explosions have been heard at a flooded chemical plant in a small town outside Houston.
The Arkema plant lies around 40 kilometres away in Crosby, Texas, and the last of its employees evacuated on Tuesday. The flooded facility lost power and backup generators after Hurricane Harvey swept in, leaving it without refrigeration for organic peroxides that become volatile as the temperature rises.
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A statement on the website of French company Arkema this morning says that two explosions have been heard and black smoke has been spotted. Residents within 2.5 kilometres of the plant have been told to leave.
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“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, said yesterday.
Arkema submitted a plan to the government in 2014 outlining a worst-case scenario that said potentially 1.1 million residents could be affected by such an event over a distance of 23 miles (37 kilometres), according to information compiled by a non-profit group.
But the company said on Wednesday that a worst-case scenario was “very unlikely”.
Death toll rises
The confirmed death toll from Harvey climbed to 31, including six family members – four of them children – whose bodies were pulled on 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 3 metres of muddy water.
The fire department in Houston began searching thousands of flooded homes to ensure “no people were left behind”.
Harvey was downgraded to a tropical depression and the floodwaters started dropping across much of the Houston area.
Forecasters downgraded Harvey to a tropical depression late on Wednesday from a tropical storm and for much of the Houston area, forecasters said the rain is pretty much over.
“We have good news,” said Jeff Lindner, a meteorologist with the Harris County Flood Control District. “The water levels are going down.”
Houston’s two major airports were up and running again on Wednesday. Officials said they were resuming limited bus and light rail service as well as rubbish collection.
But many thousands of Houston-area homes are under water and could stay that way for days or weeks, and Lindner warned that properties near at least one swollen bayou could still get flooded.
Officials said 911 centres in the Houston area are getting more than 1,000 calls an hour from people seeking help.
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