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Flooded Texas Chemical Plant Explodes

Just hours after the explosion, the plant's CEO told reporters that the company was powerless to stop explosions due to flooding.

Volatile chemicals stored in a factory outside Houston exploded Thursday morning with black plumes of smoke seen coming from the Arkema peroxide plant as ten police officers were hospitalized after inhaling toxic fumes. The facility had been flooded under five feet of water from Hurricane Harvey, which knocked out backup power sources that were keeping the volatile chemicals cool.

The company reported that two explosions were heard at the facility in Crosby at 2 AM local time, just hours after the CEO of Arkema's North America unit, Richard Rowe, told reporters that the company was powerless to stop the explosions. Arkema added that because the chemicals were stored at multiple locations at the facility there was the chance of further explosions.

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