Getty A photo showing the aftermath of the Houston explosion.
A massive explosion rocked a neighborhood in Houston, Texas in the early morning of January 24, 2020, damaging many people’s homes and leaving a half-mile debris field.
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo issued this warning, “Until further notice avoid inhalation exposure out of over abundance of caution.” Click 2 Houston reported that an employee remains missing. Numerous residents told the television station that their homes were damaged with broken windows and garage doors. The Houston Chronicle reported that the explosion occurred at Watson Grinding and Manufacturing, a machining and manufacturing company located at 4525 Gessner.
Live video news coverage shows the damage.
The Houston Fire Chief said in a news conference that units were assessing damage throughout the neighborhoods, but there are no reports of hazards to the air quality.
The Houston Fire Department reported that there is no evacuation order at this time, however. “No evacuation order has been given at this time. @HoustonFire HazMat team is on scene and monitoring.” The Fire Department’s initial report said: “Explosion of building: 4500 Gessner. Patrol units blocking off streets in the area. HFD responding.”
Breaking: Video just into our newsroom showing the aftermath of an explosion in Houston, TX.
Police say this is an industrial facility. Witnesses say the windows and walls of their homes rattled.
At this hour, authorities warn of a second blast. @wpri12
At least one person was injured, the fire department says, writing, “HFD Hazmat responding to the area near 4500 block of Gessner. Firefighters responding to reports of an explosion. One person has been transported to the hospital from that area.” Chief Samuel Peña added, “This is still an active scene. Avoid the area. No evacuation order given at this time. We will advise of the possible cause of the explosion as soon as we have concrete info. HazMat team is on scene and monitoring.”
Here’s what you need to know:
A Doorbell Camera Captured the Moment the Explosion Occurred
Thoughts to all those near the #explosion. Everyone check on your neighbors, especially the elderly.
Structural damage will need to be assessed on all those in area too. My ceiling fell down 2 miles away.
#Allstate
#SpringBranchExplosion #Houston #HoustonExplosion
A resident captured the explosion on a widely shared doorbell video, which you can see above.
“(The explosion) knocked us all out of our bed, it was so strong,” said resident Mark Brady to Click2 Houston. “It busted out every window in our house. It busted everybody’s garage door in around here … and closer toward the explosion over here, it busted people’s roofs in and walls in and we don’t know what it is … It’s a warzone over here.”
Photos showed damage to windows.
A gasoline station attendant cleans up broken glass from an explosion in Houston, Texas, on January 24, 2020. – A large explosion shook the US city of Houston, Texas, early on Friday morning, with shocked residents woken before dawn as houses were badly damaged and glass windows blown in.
You can See the Explosion on Radar imagery
Radar images show the explosion. Mike Iscovitz, a meteorologist for Fox 26, wrote on Twitter, “In all my years, I’ve never seen this on our local radar. A giant explosion occurred just before 4:30am this morning in Northwest Houston and was felt more than 20 miles away. Radar clearly shows this brief FLASH of reflectivity from NW Houston.”
Here’s another view on radar:
According to Chief Acevedo, “Debris field out here is about half a mile. No inhalation known hazard. More to follow.”
Firefighters and emergency services arrive at a scne of a reported explosion in Houston, Texas.
Spring Branch ISD wrote on Twitter, “Houston Fire Dept. has stated the fumes from the Gessner explosion earlier this morning are non-toxic. We plan for a safe and regular school day for all SBISD schools.”