- A chemical plant has exploded in Shepard, Texas on Wednesday
- A shelter in place has been issued to residents near US Highway 59 from Goodrich to Leggett
- It is unclear what caused the blast, but one person has seriously injured
A chemical plant exploded in a huge fireball in Texas around 8.30am, sending a giant cloud of black smoke into the sky and triggering evacuations.
A shelter in place has also been issued to residents within a five-mile radius of Wednesday’s explosion in Shepherd, Texas.
According to FOX 26 one person has been injured and taken to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center with first-degree burns to the face, along with second and third-degree burns to the arms.
The San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office reported the chemical plant fire at Sound Resource Solutions.
Sound Resource Solutions is a local recycling plant in Shepard, Texas. According to the company’s website, they focus on the ‘blending, repackaging, distribution, and logistics’ in a sustainable way.
Polk County Emergency Managment recommends that residents near US Highway 59 from Goodrich to Leggett shelter in place.
They have also advised residents to turn their HVAC systems off in businesses and home immediately.
A shot of the huge plume of black smoke from a drivers car (pictured)
A chemical plant fire has erupted at Sound Resource Solutions, a local recycling plant in Shepherd, Texas
The Sheriff’s office is asking the public to avoid the area and watch out for emergency vehicles.
Responders have reported that a plume of smoke is headed towards the Livingston area. Polk County Emergency Managment recommends that residents near US Highway 59 from Goodrich to Leggett shelter in place.
The effects of the chemicals in the air are unknown at this time but the wind is suspected to be carrying the odor and smoke from the fire into the air.
Polk County Emergency Management posted a map of the US Highway 59 region from Goodrich to Leggett. All residents in that area need to shelter in place immediately
The dark smoke has taken over the clear blue skies from the chemical explosion (pictured)
Someone posted to Facebook (pictured) and said that she ‘never heard a boom’ as she was at the donut shop at the time of the explosion
During a shelter in place during a radiation emergency, all windows and doors should be locked, and everyone inside should move to the basement or the middle of the building, the CDC said.
If you are stuck in a car during a shelter in place you should look to find the closest building. Cars do not provide enough protection from radioactive material.
One person posted to Facebook and said: ‘Thank you to nobody that called to check on me. Yes this is 2 miles away. I was at the donut shop while cops and fire trucks were on the way.’
‘I never heard a boom,’ they said.