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Evacuation Ordered After Apocalyptic Fireball Erupts Over Texas Town In Chemical Explosion<\/h1>\n
More details are emerging after\u00a0a massive chemical explosion at a southeast Texas refinery\u00a0<\/strong>in the early hours of Wednesday ripped through the plant and shattered windows across nearby residential areas of Port Neches, which lies about\u00a090 miles east of Houston. People in homes that are miles away from the blast site\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0windows, doors, and rooftops\u00a0being blown out\u00a0by the initial shock wave from the blast.<\/p>\n All residents within a half mile of the burning chemical plant\u00a0have been issued a mandatory evacuation order<\/strong>, and so far plant operator\u00a0TPC said its more than 175 full-time employees and 50 contractors are all accounted for, though a handful were transported to the hospital for burns and other injuries, at least one in\u00a0serious condition.<\/p>\n Some of the eyewitness accounts of the chemical explosion collected by NBC News convey at atmosphere of confusion when the first blast occurred at about 1am, resulting in a blaze that overtook much of the plant.<\/p>\n Currently the\u00a0emergency is considered “ongoing”<\/strong>\u00a0but response crews say they will soon bring it under control.<\/p>\n “Their doors were blown open… doorknobs themselves were shot across rooms,” one\u00a0resident said<\/a>.\u00a0“We didn’t know what had exploded and what gasses were in the air,”<\/strong>\u00a0the woman said, and described a panic scramble of nearby residents to flee the area:\u00a0“I’ve never seen the traffic like that ever.”<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/zh-prod-1cc738ca-7d3b-4a72-b792-20bd8d8fa069.storage.googleapis.com\/s3fs-public\/styles\/inline_image_desktop\/public\/inline-images\/KFDM-video-fiery-explosion.jpg?itok=321MGlbR)