Explosions have been heard coming a chemical plant near the flooded US city of Houston
Explosions have been heard coming a chemical plant near the flooded US city of Houston.
Emergency workers 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 theUS 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.
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.
