Explosions occur at Arkema’s Crosby, Texas plant

Explosions have occurred following intense flooding at Arkema’s organic peroxides plant in Crosby, Texas.

Two explosions and black smoke were reported at around 2am local time.

A spokesperson from the company said, "our site followed its hurricane preparation plan in advance of the recent hurricane and we had redundant contingency plans in place.

"However, unprecedented flooding overwhelmed our primary power and two sources of emergency backup power.

"As a result, we lost critical refrigeration of the products on site. Some of our organic peroxides products burn if not stored at low temperature.”

Arkema and the local authorities have agreed the best course of action is to let the fire burn itself out.

The company has previously stated that it does not expect any long term or lasting damage to be caused by the explosions.

More explosions are expected, and residents of the local area have been urged to remain outside of the 1.5mile evacuation zone.

The organic peroxides manufactured at the site are a family of compounds that are used in a wide range of applications, such as making pharmaceuticals and construction materials.