evacuation order after an explosion sent this chemical plant up in flames. frankly, i m left wondering how we didn t suffer a significant loss of life the chemical plant produces more than 900 million pounds of material a year including a gas used for a variety of synthetic materials like rubber and nylon. state environmental officials are working around the clock monitoring air quality near the site. i can confirm that the situation is improving, but we re not completely out of the woods yet. officials say the initial blast from the tpc group s operations site could be seen up to 30 miles away. a second explosion wednesday afternoon blew this tower into the sky. one of the falling towers had burned off, took off like a rocket. about 200 people work at the facility but only about 30 employees were reportedly at the plant at the time of the
tom costello tracking it all. thank you for that. we re following an explosion and fire tonight at a chemical plant in texas near the louisiana border residents evacuated, thanksgiving plans disrupted and late today a second blast. morgan chesky has that story. reporter: the overnight blast shook this texas town to its core the explosion so powerful it was caught on doorbell cameras across port neches, a coastal area east of houston stunned residents running from their homes to see what happened some even forced to evacuate. it sounded like a bomb went off. reporter: the blast whipping through tpc group, a company that produces chemicals making rubber, fuels and plastics three workers were injured tonight, it s the smoldering mess pouring potentially toxic smoke in texas skies that has residents worried. definitely worried about what s going in the air. reporter: officials warning to stay away take necessary precautions to
forges of arkansas, they are feeling the effects from this trade war with china. when the tariffs were announced, within a matter of days, we got a letter from our steel supplier reporter: on the biggest project you were working on? the biggest project in the history of the company saying our stainless steel price, the vast majority of the cost, was going to go up by 25%. reporter: for now, they are eating the costs and forging ahead through a trade war with no end in sight. gadi schwartz, nbc news, mountain view, arkansas. and just ahead, the harrowing fall and dramatic rescue in yosemite how a top climber managed to survive. we ll hear from her. also, the price you pay. where to find the best deals before black friday.
shelter in place. the t.p.c. group produced chemicals like butadiene, which could damage nervous systems. the e.p.a. is monitoring air quality. we have taken at the moment, as best a defensive position as we possibly can in order to try to get everything initiated as cooling, isolate as much as we possibly can, so that we re not continuing to feed the source of the fire. reporter: we were right outside the burning chemical plant when that second explosion occurred. we saw it. we felt it. it was jarring. officials now say that the mandatory evacuation circle now covers a four-mile radius around the plant. firefighters are now working to put out the fire, so they can figure out what caused it. david. begnaud: courtney zubowski near the scene in southeast texas tonight. thank you, courtney. it is one of the busiest nights ever for travel in the u.s. and for tens of millions of people, the timing could not be worse. two major storms are whipping up