LOC19:12
16:12 GMT
WASHINGTON, Aug 31 (KUNA) -- Six days after Hurricane Harvey came ashore on the Texas coast, at least 37 people are dead, nearly 35,000 people are in shelters, the city of Beaumont has no running water, a major reservoir near Houston is threatening to overflow, and explosions at a chemical plant in Crosby caused 15 sheriff's deputies to be hospitalized.
Flooding caused both water pumps in Beaumont to fail, leaving the southeast Texas city of 118,000 with no running water, and officials said the pumps will not be repaired until the floodwater has receded.
In Crosby, also in southeast Texas, black smoke, which officials said was non-toxic, billowed from the flooded Arkema chemical plant, and more explosions were possible.
In Houston, the fourth-largest US city, residents near the Barker Reservoir were told to evacuate immediately as water was at imminent risk of overflowing and flooding their homes.
The blasts on Thursday in Crosby occurred when organic peroxides overheated after the plant lost power Sunday, officials said. That led to one container catching fire, sending black smoke 30 to 40 feet into the air.
Fifteen Harris County sheriff's deputies who were hospitalized were treated and released Thursday morning.
Many Texas chemical and oil plants have shut down operations, including the Colonial Pipeline. It carries gasoline and other fuel between Houston and the East Coast. Valero and Motiva, the largest refinery in the US, have also closed some of their facilities, officials said.
Harvey swung out into the Gulf of Mexico again and came ashore a second time Wednesday near the Texas-Louisiana border, and Louisiana was now facing major flooding woes. (end)
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