Texas: Floods pose serious health hazards in oil-and-gas centre

A flooded petrochemical plant in Texas that released large amounts of toxins into the air after explosions is just one of many hazards the state’s Gulf coast faces after tropical storm Harvey.

Even though it lies at the centre of the United States’ oil-and-gas industry, Houston has no zoning laws and minimal oversight on industrial pollution, according to environmental watchdogs.

And this all makes dealing with the aftermath of Harvey even more of a challenge.

 

Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi reports from Beaumont, Texas.