Two Dead in Massive Industrial Explosion in Houston; Damaged Texas Homes

On Friday, early morning, an explosion was reported in Houston.

It has left rubbles everywhere and reaching as far as a one-half mile away from the plant. 

Some homes nearby were damaged.

As early as 4:15 on Friday, there were reports on Twitter regarding a boom around the city. A fire was seen burning and some smoke over the area. 

The police chief of Houston said that there is one worker unaccounted. Polypropylene chemical is released when valves are released.

The city of Houston shared this on Twitter No significant problems with air quality in the area surrounding the industrial site explosion in the northwest part of the city, according to @FireChiefofHFD: Propylene dissipates into the air. Please avoid the area due to traffic, debris, @HoustonFire response. 

Houston Fire Chief said that the warehouse, Watson Grinding, and Manufacturing. It refurbishes plastic pallets and was spewing Polypropylene, an ingredient for plastic.

The focus of the time was to close the valve where chemicals are freely spreading.

The firefighters are canvassing the neighborhood and recommending people to leave their houses for cautions. The local TV news showed homes with broken windows, cracked ceilings, and a lot more from the explosions.

According to Harris County Flood Control District’s meteorologist “Explosion in NW Houston…radar picked up a return near the location at the same time #houwx #hounews.”

One person was transported to the hospital from the explosion, according to the fire department of the city. Houses nearby the plant, on the northwestern side, were damaged. Some windows and garaged doors were knocked out.

“(The explosion) knocked us all out of our bed, it was so strong,” said according to one resident. “It busted out every window in our house. It busted everybody’s garage door in around here … It’s a war zone over here.”

Schools in the area released a statement:

“Due to the massive explosion, this morning and limited access to the area, Bane ES and Dean MS will be closed today to all students and staff. All other facilities will be open. In an abundance of precaution, students will remain indoors at nearby schools due to air quality concerns. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates on the website and social media as they become available.”

As of the writing, Chief Art Acevedo said that two people died from the explosion. The fire department already opened an investigation, although the police authorities said that there seems to be no intentional act from the reported explosions.

Here are some posts from residents shared on their social accounts regarding the Friday’s explosions. Some of them are sharing some videos and images during the eruptions:

More than 6 miles away… viewer Mark from Oak Forest got the sound of the blast on his security camera. #houstonexplosion

Thoughts to all those near the #explosion. Everyone check on your neighbors, especially the elderly. Structural damage will need to be assessed on all those in the area too. My ceiling fell 2 miles away. #Allstate #SpringBranchExplosion #Houston #HoustonExplosion

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