Texas Flooding: Chemical Plant Explodes

15 Law enforcement officers complained of “headaches and dizziness” after explosions

“A flooded chemical plant near Houston exploded twice early Thursday, sending a plume of smoke into the air and triggering a fire that the firm plans to let ‘burn itself out,'” a report said.

The owner-operator, the France-based Arkema Group, one of the world’s largest chemical companies, had warned on Wednesday that the plant would catch fire and explode, and that there was nothing to stop it.

All residents within the 1½-mile-radius of the plant were evacuated on Tuesday

The plant is located in Crosby, Texas (about 20 miles NE of Houston) was submerged under 6 feet of water from Hurricane HARVEY and had been without electricity since Sunday, the report said.

“We have an unprecedented 6 feet of water throughout the plant. We’ve lost primary power and two sources of emergency backup power. And as a result, critical refrigeration needed for our materials on site is lost,” the chief executive of the company’s North America operations told reporters.

Fema said on Thursday that “the plume [was] incredibly dangerous,” and that evacuations were based on “plume modeling,” used to predict the geographic extent of a hazard area from an explosion.

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Halloween Storm Forces Thousands of Evacuations

Trick-or-treat storms batter a vast region in the U.S.

Heavy rain and high winds forced dozens of U.S. cities and towns into cancelling Halloween activities on Thursday, battering a vast region from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes.

“The cities of Indianapolis and Muncie, Indiana, postponed trick-or-treating, local officials said. Toledo and at least 30 cities in Central Ohio put it off until Friday or as late as Sunday, according to the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission’s website,” said a report.

The storm system, aided by the remnants of Hurricane Raymond, which dissipated over the Pacific on Tuesday, dumped as much as 15 inches of rain over Austin area, killing at least two people, and forcing some 1,000 residences to evacuate due to flooding.

“For certain areas, it looks like this will be in their Top 10 [flood events] of all time,” said a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Austin-San Antonio office.

Weather Forecast – Flood Warning

Much of Oklahoma and Texas Threatened by Flooding

Weather Hazard Map. Source: NWS. Click image to enter portal.

Oklahoma

Parts of Tulsa flooded as heavy rain overwhelmed drainage systems flooding and high water in many areas of the city, a report said.

Texas

More rain is increasing flood risk throughout Texas. “More rain was expected for the already flooded Rio Grande basin Friday after a tropical depression replenished moisture left earlier from remnants of Hurricane Alex, according to the National Weather Service,” a report said.

“A flash flood warning was to continue for much of the state with the heaviest rain Friday expected in southern and western Texas and the Red River valley. High temperatures Friday were expected to hit the upper 80s and low 90s in the eastern half of the state and upper 70s and low 80s in the west. Winds will be easterly 5-10 mph, except for light and variable winds in north, central and east Texas.”

Additional heavy rains of up to 3 inches in NE TX and SE OK may cause flooding across vast areas, as Tropical Depression Two dumps more rain.

US Weather Forecast

Click image to enlarge and update.

Mexico

Torrential rain has pummeled northern Mexico, triggering floods and forcing up to 200,000 people to evacuate their homes.

At least 40,000 homes, many roads and other infrastructure have so far been damaged or destroyed in the border states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas, across from Texas.

The weather-related death toll since Hurricane Alex first struck the region stands at 15 in Nuevo Leon, as TD Two dumps more rain on the soaking terrain.

Mayor, 5 Others Killed Inspecting Flooding in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

“A border city mayor, a state official, and four other people died yesterday when an airplane crashed as they inspected widespread flooding that has forced tens of thousands of evacuations near the US border, ” a report said

Gulf of Mexico and TD Two – Satellite Image GOES 13 – July 8, 2010 at 23:45UTC

Click image to enlarge and up date

Related News

• People rush to evacuate as Rio Grande continues to rise

Related Links:

• Satellite Imagery
• Latest WEST full disk
• Latest EAST full disk
• Hurricane ALEX: The Giant Dwarf Has Landed
• Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster: Headline News
• Tropical Depression One: Forecast
• Tropical Wave Continues to Wreak Havoc Across Caribbean

U.S. Floods Hit Texas, Oregon, Wyoming, Utah, Missouri …

Texas

Flooding in Texas is said to have killed  at least one resident “as 11 inches of rain in two southern counties caused evacuation of several communities, authorities said,” UPI reported.

“It’s a madhouse out here,” a police lieutenant said. “We’ve made several rescues, and we’re in the middle of many more now.”

“Originally, we heard an estimate of 50 people needing shelter, but they’re bringing buses in,” American Red Cross spokeswoman Susie Walker-Atchison said. “Also, there’s some flooding that’s preventing people from getting to the shelters.”

Snapshot of Weather Forecast. Click image to update.

Wyoming

A 22-square-mile section of Fremont County including about 2,000 homes is flooded or threatened by flooding, the Wyoming National Guard reported.

“Fremont County has already been declared a disaster area by the state because of widespread flooding from raging rivers, a report said.

“Rapidly melting mountain snowpack and rain have pushed rivers in the area to record or near-record levels, washing away bridges, flooding homes and curtailing drinking water supplies. Flooding also is occurring in south-central Wyoming, but sandbagging efforts have proved largely successful in Saratoga and other small communities threatened.” AP reported.

US Weather Hazard Map. Click image to enter NWS portal.

Greeley, Colorado

The swollen Poudre River has flooded parts of Greeley, Colorado. Carp were reportedly spotted crossing a flooded street. See also:  Afternoon weather could bring flooding, severe storms

Oregon

Heavy rain and melting snow have triggered severe flooding in eastern Oregon, damaging or destroying “many roads, bridges, trails and recreation sites on the 2.4-million-acre” Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, according to a report. A state of emergency has been declared.

Utah

As many of Salt Lake County residents begin cleaning up from flooding  thousands of others anxiously monitor the weather and swollen rivers. County officials have warned of  the high risk of flooding on the eastern Wasatch Front  into Thursday, a report said.

Missouri

Severe storms brought in heavy rains pummeling parts of Kansas City metro area, and causing flash flooding in many low-lying areas which forced some businesses along Indian Creek in the south of the city to evacuate, a report said.

“It looks pretty powerful, the size of trees coming down, it’s just completely manipulative,” said a resident who lives near the creek.

Related Links:

• Weather
• Deadly Tornadoes Turn U.S. Midwest into ‘War Zone’

• A Dry Run for Climate Chaos Heading Our Way
• U.S. Warmer, Drier in March
• U.S. Weather at a Glance
• Southern U.S. Flooding Update
• FLOODING: Kentucky governor declares a state of emergency
• Rhode Island: Step Nearer Collapse?

• Flooding in Midwest Kills 1, Swamps Roads, Rail Line
• 2010 Disaster Calendar [JUNE]