Arkema Inc. announced that, at approximately 2 a.m. CDT today, it was notified by the Harris County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) of two explosions and black smoke coming from its Crosby, Texas, plant. Local officials had previously established an evacuation zone in an area 1.5 miles from the plant, based on their assessment of the situation.

According to the company, the site followed its hurricane preparation plan in advance of the recent hurricane and had redundant contingency plans in place. However, according to a statement the company released, “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.