Harvey floodwater engulfs chemical plant in Houston

Smoke rises from a chemical plant in Crosby, near Houston, Texas, Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. Thick black smoke and towering orange flames shot up Friday from the flooded Houston-area chemical plant after two trailers of highly unstable compounds blew up a day earlier after losing refrigeration. Arkema says Harvey's floodwaters engulfed its backup generators and knocked out the refrigeration necessary to keep its nine containers of organic peroxides from degrading and catching fire. [Photo: AP]

File photo shows the TPC petrochemical plant, with downtown Houston in the background. The Houston that was battered by Harvey is an economic powerhouse whose influence reaches far beyond its region, leading many to worry about when its economy be able to stand up again. Houston produces the plastic used in everything from sports cars to baby bottles and is part of a low-lying coastal region that supplies nearly a third of U.S. oil-refining capacity. [Photo: AP/ David J. Phillip]

Frances Breaux cries as she talks about her fears for two close friends who live near the Arkema Inc. chemical plant Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, in Crosby, Texas. Breaux said her close friends, an elderly couple that live close to the plant, have not been heard from Thursday. The Houston-area chemical plant that lost power after Harvey engulfed the area in extensive floods was rocked by multiple explosions early Thursday, the plant's operator said. [Photo: AP/ Gregory Bull]

Residents talk with an officer at a roadblock marking the 1.5-mile evacuation perimeter around the Arkema Inc. chemical plant Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, in Crosby, Texas. The Houston-area chemical plant that lost power after Harvey engulfed the area in extensive floods was rocked by multiple explosions early Thursday, the plant's operator said. The Arkema Inc. plant had been left without refrigeration for chemicals that become volatile as the temperature rises. [Photo: AP/ Gregory Bull]