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| Harvey Live Updates: In Crosby, Texas, Blasts at a Chemical Plant and More Are Feared | Harvey Live Updates: In Crosby, Texas, Blasts at a Chemical Plant and More Are Feared |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Officials were warily watching a flood-ravaged chemical plant northeast of Houston on Thursday after a series of small explosions, or “pops,” overnight. They said that they expected more blasts, but did not know exactly when they would take place. The fumes sickened several Harris County Sheriffs deputies, and residents within a 1.5-mile radius have been evacuated. | Officials were warily watching a flood-ravaged chemical plant northeast of Houston on Thursday after a series of small explosions, or “pops,” overnight. They said that they expected more blasts, but did not know exactly when they would take place. The fumes sickened several Harris County Sheriffs deputies, and residents within a 1.5-mile radius have been evacuated. |
| The blasts were one of a host of new dangers emerging Thursday, as floodwaters from Harvey, once a Category 4 hurricane, receded in many Houston neighborhoods and the storm moved through northeastern Louisiana and into Mississippi. Beaumont, a town in eastern Texas which has been inundated by floodwaters, lost its running water, and officials ordered mandatory evacuations in areas around the Barker Reservoir near Houston over fears about new flooding. | The blasts were one of a host of new dangers emerging Thursday, as floodwaters from Harvey, once a Category 4 hurricane, receded in many Houston neighborhoods and the storm moved through northeastern Louisiana and into Mississippi. Beaumont, a town in eastern Texas which has been inundated by floodwaters, lost its running water, and officials ordered mandatory evacuations in areas around the Barker Reservoir near Houston over fears about new flooding. |
| More than 30,000 people remained in shelters in the region and Houston fire officials said they would begin the painstaking search of homes in the city in which there was more than three feet of water to make sure no one was left behind. The process could take up to two weeks, the Fire Department said. | More than 30,000 people remained in shelters in the region and Houston fire officials said they would begin the painstaking search of homes in the city in which there was more than three feet of water to make sure no one was left behind. The process could take up to two weeks, the Fire Department said. |
| Here is the latest: | Here is the latest: |
| • Local officials said there were at least 38 deaths in Texas so far that were related or suspected to be related to the storm. Officials throughout southeast Texas said they were prepared for that number to inch higher as floodwaters began to recede. | • Local officials said there were at least 38 deaths in Texas so far that were related or suspected to be related to the storm. Officials throughout southeast Texas said they were prepared for that number to inch higher as floodwaters began to recede. |
| • Vice President Mike Pence and other cabinet officials will visit Corpus Christi, Tex., on Thursday to meet with storm survivors. | • Vice President Mike Pence and other cabinet officials will visit Corpus Christi, Tex., on Thursday to meet with storm survivors. |
| • The storm was downgraded to a tropical depression on Wednesday night. It is expected to move through northeastern Louisiana and northwestern Mississippi on Thursday. | • The storm was downgraded to a tropical depression on Wednesday night. It is expected to move through northeastern Louisiana and northwestern Mississippi on Thursday. |
| • Tens of thousands remained in overcrowded shelters, waiting for an indication that they could return to their homes. “The shelter mission is the biggest battle that we have right now,” said Brock Long, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, on Thursday. | • Tens of thousands remained in overcrowded shelters, waiting for an indication that they could return to their homes. “The shelter mission is the biggest battle that we have right now,” said Brock Long, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, on Thursday. |
| •The police in Houston recused 18 people overnight, Mayor Sylvester Turner said on Twitter on Thursday morning. The mayor also said there had been no arrests or citations for breaking the city’s curfew for the second night in a row. | •The police in Houston recused 18 people overnight, Mayor Sylvester Turner said on Twitter on Thursday morning. The mayor also said there had been no arrests or citations for breaking the city’s curfew for the second night in a row. |
| Explosions and fires were reported at about 2 a.m. at the flooded chemical plant in Crosby, about 30 miles northeast of Houston. Twenty-one emergency medical workers and sheriff’s deputies who were exposed to the chemicals were treated at Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital, according to the hospital’s chief executive, David Bernard. By midmorning, all had been released or were in the process of being discharged. | |
| The plant’s owner, Arkema, said the site had been without power since Sunday. With a storage warehouse warming up, the crew transferred the chemicals to the diesel-powered refrigerated trailers, some of which apparently warmed to the point where the chemicals exploded. | |
| In a sometimes contentious news conference, Rich Rennard, an Arkema executive, said that eight of nine storage containers had lost the refrigeration that kept the chemicals — known as oxygen peroxides and used to make plastics — from decomposing. That decomposition, he said, would cause blasts with fire and smoke. | |
| Mr. Rennard said the smoke produced by the blasts would be “noxious,” and would be an irritant to peoples’ eyes, lungs and possibly their skin. He would not give a definitive answer on whether the smoke was toxic, saying that toxicity was a relative measure, and would not speculate on whether the smoke produced by further explosions would be worse than that which erupted from the plant earlier Thursday. | |
| Mr. Rennard said that Arkema employees had no plans to enter the site until the water had significantly receded, given the instability of the chemicals there. The blasts were not expected to affect chemicals in other parts of the plant, he said, and the company was able to monitor the status of the containers remotely. Residents within a one and a half mile radius of the plant have been evacuated. | |
| “We’re not going to put anyone in harm’s way to try to restore refrigeration,” he said. | |
| Taps ran dry Thursday morning in Beaumont, and officials there said they could not predict when the homes and businesses in the city of almost 120,000 residents would have running water again. | Taps ran dry Thursday morning in Beaumont, and officials there said they could not predict when the homes and businesses in the city of almost 120,000 residents would have running water again. |
| Lack of drinking water poses a serious survival risk for people trapped in the city, and Mr. Long, in his morning update, said that it was a particular area of concern for FEMA, which would look to distribute water in the area. | Lack of drinking water poses a serious survival risk for people trapped in the city, and Mr. Long, in his morning update, said that it was a particular area of concern for FEMA, which would look to distribute water in the area. |
| Executives at Baptist Beaumont Hospital, decided to evacuate because of the water shutdown. The hospital began to transport most of its 193 patients by ambulance and helicopter to hospitals outside the city, and to discharge those who could safely go home, said Mary Poole, a hospital spokeswoman. | Executives at Baptist Beaumont Hospital, decided to evacuate because of the water shutdown. The hospital began to transport most of its 193 patients by ambulance and helicopter to hospitals outside the city, and to discharge those who could safely go home, said Mary Poole, a hospital spokeswoman. |
| “We have water here, bottled water, but not enough to take care of all the patients for very long,” she said. “So we’re doing this before we’re in crisis mode, because we have no way of telling when the water will come back on.” | “We have water here, bottled water, but not enough to take care of all the patients for very long,” she said. “So we’re doing this before we’re in crisis mode, because we have no way of telling when the water will come back on.” |
| Christus Southeast Texas-St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont will keep its emergency and trauma services open, but it is weighing whether to evacuate other departments, said Danielle Pardue, a spokeswoman. | Christus Southeast Texas-St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont will keep its emergency and trauma services open, but it is weighing whether to evacuate other departments, said Danielle Pardue, a spokeswoman. |
| Shortly after midnight, the city released a statement saying that due to flooding, its pumping station on the Neches River — the main source of water — had broken down. The city also lost a secondary source, wells in Hardin County. | Shortly after midnight, the city released a statement saying that due to flooding, its pumping station on the Neches River — the main source of water — had broken down. The city also lost a secondary source, wells in Hardin County. |
| “We will have to wait until the water levels from this historical flood recede before we can determine the extent of damage and make any needed repairs,” the statement said. “There is no way to determine how long this will take at this time.” | “We will have to wait until the water levels from this historical flood recede before we can determine the extent of damage and make any needed repairs,” the statement said. “There is no way to determine how long this will take at this time.” |
| Our reporter Rick Rojas is in Beaumont, his hometown. Read more about his journey home here. | Our reporter Rick Rojas is in Beaumont, his hometown. Read more about his journey home here. |
| At the George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston’s main shelter, evacuees have been learning of deaths from social media and from watching news reports on an enormous projection screen. | At the George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston’s main shelter, evacuees have been learning of deaths from social media and from watching news reports on an enormous projection screen. |
| “Part of me wants to just break down crying because it’s so much despair,” said Billy Cartwright, a construction worker who has been staying at the convention center since Monday. “I feel pretty grateful, but part of me’s pretty sad. It’s pretty bad.” | “Part of me wants to just break down crying because it’s so much despair,” said Billy Cartwright, a construction worker who has been staying at the convention center since Monday. “I feel pretty grateful, but part of me’s pretty sad. It’s pretty bad.” |
| Mr. Cartwright, 44, said he believed he had lost all of his possessions to the flood. | Mr. Cartwright, 44, said he believed he had lost all of his possessions to the flood. |
| “I try to think that when all of this passes, just like any other tragedy, America always bounces back,” he said. | “I try to think that when all of this passes, just like any other tragedy, America always bounces back,” he said. |
| When 120 m.p.h. winds lashed this beach town where Hurricane Harvey made landfall, they smashed some things and spared others. Houses were pushed off their foundations, and shacks next-door were spared. Big trees stood while small trees toppled. | When 120 m.p.h. winds lashed this beach town where Hurricane Harvey made landfall, they smashed some things and spared others. Houses were pushed off their foundations, and shacks next-door were spared. Big trees stood while small trees toppled. |
| At Spanky’s Liquor on the main street, the windows shattered, the walls collapsed. “The roof? It’s about 100 feet that way,” the owner, Tom Hamilton, said as he paused from sweeping the pieces and pointed toward a house with a boat capsized against the porch and a surfboard lodged in a tree. | At Spanky’s Liquor on the main street, the windows shattered, the walls collapsed. “The roof? It’s about 100 feet that way,” the owner, Tom Hamilton, said as he paused from sweeping the pieces and pointed toward a house with a boat capsized against the porch and a surfboard lodged in a tree. |
| But miraculously, nearly every bottle of liquor was still intact on the shelves, now standing under an open sky. | But miraculously, nearly every bottle of liquor was still intact on the shelves, now standing under an open sky. |
| On Wednesday — the first full day Mr. Hamilton had been allowed back to his store — a crew of employees packed boxes of bottles in the sun. | On Wednesday — the first full day Mr. Hamilton had been allowed back to his store — a crew of employees packed boxes of bottles in the sun. |
| Like many on the island, Mr. Hamilton and his staff were beginning the long, often quiet ordeal of loss and recovery. Christy Lambert pulled out her phone to find a photo of her home in Aransas Pass, just across the bay. There was nothing left but a single kitchen wall. Most of her possessions had blown away. | Like many on the island, Mr. Hamilton and his staff were beginning the long, often quiet ordeal of loss and recovery. Christy Lambert pulled out her phone to find a photo of her home in Aransas Pass, just across the bay. There was nothing left but a single kitchen wall. Most of her possessions had blown away. |
| “When I saw it, I cried, I cried for hours,” said Ms. Lambert, who fled the storm and returned Monday. | “When I saw it, I cried, I cried for hours,” said Ms. Lambert, who fled the storm and returned Monday. |
| “I don’t really have anything but a few things I packed and $40,” she said. “It’s going to be hard to come back from that, but as long as I can keep working, I’ll be O.K.” | “I don’t really have anything but a few things I packed and $40,” she said. “It’s going to be hard to come back from that, but as long as I can keep working, I’ll be O.K.” |
| • Times journalists are chronicling the storm and its aftermath. Here is a collection of the most powerful photographs, and a guide to our coverage. | • Times journalists are chronicling the storm and its aftermath. Here is a collection of the most powerful photographs, and a guide to our coverage. |
| • Follow Times correspondents covering the storm on Twitter: Manny Fernandez, Alan Blinder, Julie Turkewitz, Jack Healy, Dave Philipps, Annie Correal, Rick Rojas, Monica Davey, Richard Fausset, Richard Pérez-Peña and Audra Burch. | • Follow Times correspondents covering the storm on Twitter: Manny Fernandez, Alan Blinder, Julie Turkewitz, Jack Healy, Dave Philipps, Annie Correal, Rick Rojas, Monica Davey, Richard Fausset, Richard Pérez-Peña and Audra Burch. |
| • Are you in an affected area? If you are safe, and are able to, share your story by email to hurricane@nytimes.com. And here are ways you can contribute to relief efforts. | • Are you in an affected area? If you are safe, and are able to, share your story by email to hurricane@nytimes.com. And here are ways you can contribute to relief efforts. |