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Fires and two explosions rocked a flooded Houston-area chemical plant early Thursday, sending up a plume that federal authorities described as "incredibly dangerous" and adding a potential new hazard to the aftermath of Harvey. The blasts at the Arkema Inc. plant, about 25 miles northeast of Houston, also ignited a 30- to 40-foot flame.
Two explosions were reported at a flooded Texas chemical plant near storm-battered Houston Thursday, just as the region began its slow recovery following Harvey's onslaught. Operators at the Arkema Inc facility said the Harris County Emergency Operations Center notified them at approximately 2:00am CDT , of "two explosions and black smoke" rising from the plant in Crosby, a town about 25 miles northeast of Houston.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks during a press briefing the State of Texas Emergency Command Center at Department of Public Safety headquarters in Austin. Austin - A US federal judge late on Wednesday temporarily blocked most of Texas' tough new "sanctuary cities" law that would have let police officers ask people during routine stops whether they're in the US legally and threatened sheriffs with jail time for not co-operating with federal immigration authorities.
As high water spreads from Houston through Texas and Louisiana, authorities are bracing for an inevitable wave of fraud and other criminal activity set into motion by Harvey's punishing rains. In a warning to those who would seek to defraud the government and people wanting to help or seeking assistance, a dozen federal and state agencies were banding together to investigate and prosecute wrongdoers.
The Texas Legislature deliberately suppressed the impact of Hispanic and other minority voters on elections. That's not an accusation; it's the takeaway from three rulings made by two federal courts in under a month.
A federal judge late Wednesday temporarily blocked most of Texas' tough new "sanctuary cities" law that would have let police officers ask people during routine stops whether they're in the U.S. legally and threatened sheriffs with jail time for not cooperating with federal immigration authorities. The law, known as Senate Bill 4, had been cheered by President Donald Trump's administration and was set to take effect Friday.
There are more than 32,000 people in shelters across Texas as Harvey continues drenching the state's Gulf Coast. Gov. Greg Abbott says Texas also has an additional 30,000 beds "available as needed" for those who fled or are still fleeing floodwaters associated with the storm.
Authorities say a 3-year-old girl who was found clinging to the body of her drowned mother in a rain-swollen canal in Southeast Texas is doing well and should be released from the hospital soon. Officer Carol Riley says the toddler, who was suffering from hypothermia when she was rescued Tuesday afternoon, has now been reunited with her family.
Donald Trump did what a president is supposed to do yesterday, visiting Corpus Christi for a briefing on hurricane relief efforts, talking up Texas and praising those on the front lines of the catastrophic flooding. As a levee was breached, reservoirs overflowed and Harvey dumped more rain on the battered Houston region, the president and his FEMA director demonstrated that the feds are coordinating with state and local officials in trying to aid the tens of thousands of displaced residents.
It may be an impolitic point to make at this meteorological moment, but sometimes bluntness helps clear the conceptual clouds. So here goes: The rhetoric around the Texas disaster relief effort is inspiring, but shouldn't political leaders' professed concern about their fellow citizens transcend national emergencies? Or to put it another way, why don't President Trump and the leading politicians of Texas practice what they preach? This week, Greg Abbott, Texas's governor, spoke movingly about the spirit of generosity and community on display in the Houston area's Dunkirk-like response to this natural disaster.
President Trump's forthcoming decision on the fate of so-called Dreamers - unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the U.S. before adulthood - could have far-reaching consequences not only for his quest for immigration reform and an impenetrable border wall. As the Washington Examiner reported last week, Trump is under mounting pressure to terminate or phase out the Obama-era Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program that protects nearly 800,000 undocumented youth before a coalition of conservative state attorneys general sue his administration for what they see as unlawful amnesty.
Residents from Bayou Parc at Oak Forest carry their belongings while evacuating the apartment complex during the Tropical Storm Harvey, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, in Houston. With Hurricane Harvey rains continuing to drench Houston, bar associations and legal aid organizations are gearing up to provide legal help to hurricane victims, and firms have pledged money to support aid even as their Houston offices remain closed .
People evacuate a neighborhood in west Houston inundated by floodwaters after a release from nearby Addicks Reservoir when it reached capacity Tuesday. more > Hurricane Harvey's rainfall topped 50 inches in some spots, setting a record for the continental U.S., as flooding reached more neighborhoods in Texas on Tuesday, forced further evacuations, spurred thousands of heroic rescues and stranded many more people.
"It changes the shipping patterns, it increases the length of haul, and has a ripple effect throughout the supply chain." - DAT's Matt Montague As Hurricane Harvey continues to devastate Houston, the shocking images are drawing comparisons to Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans in 2005.
The director of the National Weather Service is warning that the catastrophic flooding that's overwhelming Houston and other parts of Texas will worsen in the coming days and then be slow to recede once Harvey finally moves on.
President Trump led an impromptu pep rally for Texas from the bumper of a firetruck in Corpus Christi on Tuesday, vowing a swift federal response to Hurricane Harvey's fury without getting up close and personal with any displaced Texans. "This is historic.
President Donald Trump told a group of federal leaders and Texas officials on Tuesday during a visit to Corpus Christi that he will hold off on congratulating his administration and the Texas government on its response to Hurricane Harvey for "when we're all finished." Trump made the comments after thanking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who had introduced him and the administration officials present.
Houston officials will open two or three more mega-shelters to accommodate people who continue to arrive at the overflowing George R. Brown Convention Center seeking refuge from Harvey's record-breaking flooding, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Tuesday. "We are not turning anyone away.
President Donald Trump called Hurricane Harvey a storm of "epic proportions" and said he hopes his administration's response to the disaster will be regarded as a model. "We want to be looked at five years, ten years from now, as this is the way to do it," Trump said as he and his wife Melania received a briefing on the storm response at a fire station in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Homeowners whose properties were damaged by Harvey may face another challenge: filing insurance claims before a new Texas law takes effect on Friday. The statute, House Bill 1774 , limits penalties for property-casualty insurers when policyholders sue them for being slow to settle a claim, offer a lowball payout or decline a claim altogether.