Dear Souls,
We are witnessing terrible devastation in Texas and fires in Houston: houses are damaged, people are dead due to deadly hurricane Harvey. As the news goes as Harvey's rainfall tapered off over the weekend in Texas, the region is starting to take stock of the damage as it enters the next phase of recovery.
Cleanup efforts are underway after the deadly storm. But, with rivers still full and floodwaters only starting to recede, officials say it will be a long time before the full extent of the damage reveals itself.
Toxic waste sites flooded
At least 13 toxic waste sites in Texas were flooded or damaged by Hurricane Harvey, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The toxic waste sites are the latest environmental threat to emerge since Harvey swept through the region. Fires broke out over two days at a flooded chemical plant near Houston.
People living within 1.5 miles from the Arkema site in Crosby were evacuated days before the explosions. The evacuation order was lifted early Monday morning after local officials determined it was safe to let residents return home.
Officials have been letting chemical containers catch fire and burn out rather than endanger firefighters, the EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said in a joint statement.
The Superfund sites and the Arkema plant represent just a snapshot of the catastrophic storm's cascading effects.
As of Saturday, 2,300 of the 4,500 drinking water systems potentially affected by Harvey have been contacted, the EPA said. Of those, 1,514 systems are fully operational, 166 have boil-water notices, and 50 are shut down. As for wastewater and sewage, 1,656 of about 2,469 wastewater treatment plants are fully operational in affected counties.
Moreover Texas officials blame Harvey for at least 60 deaths.