Massive explosion rips through Houston: Factory blast is ‘felt for miles’ and ‘boom’ heard across city
- Houston Police warned people to avoid ‘hot zone’ after explosion at 4.25am
- Boom was heard throughout the city and rattled windows for miles around
- Blast came from a factory on the 4500 block of Gessner Road
- Stunning surveillance footage shows the blast erupting into the night sky
A colossal explosion has ripped through Houston, waking residents with shaking and booming heard for miles around.
Police confirmed the blast came from a factory on the 4500 block of Gessner Road in the northwest of the city on Friday at about 4.25am.
Texans took to social media to compare the shaking to an earthquake, thunder and lightning, and even questioned whether an asteroid had crashed to the ground.
A local resident’s surveillance camera facing north on Gessner and Clay showed the blast erupting with a huge flash of light in the night sky. Such was the force of the explosion that the camera was rattled off its stand and fell onto the porch.
A local resident’s surveillance camera facing north on Gessner and Clay showed the blast erupting with a flash of light into the night sky at just after 4.24am on Friday
A flash of white light fills the night sky (left) and the trees are silhouetted against the light (right)
Helicopter footage taken an hour after the explosion showed smoke continuing to rise from the blast site this morning
The powerful explosion caused windows to shatter in homes and door jambs to crack, and one nearby gas station had its front doors blown wide open.
One Twitter user posted a photo of shattered glass throughout his living room, writing: ‘Did Houston had en (sic) earthquake? our entire apartment shake that it broke our window.’
Residents as far flung as Pasadena said they thought the explosion had gone off in their back yard.
Houston Police tweeted at around 5am: ‘Building Explosion 4500 Gessner: HPD command post at Tanner @ Gessner. All traffic avoid hot zone between Gessner, Genard, Sefani & Clay Rd.’
One Twitter user posted a photo of shattered glass throughout his living room, writing: ‘Did Houston had en earthquake?our entire apartment shake that it broke our window’
The blast can be seen after its initial explosion before the force sent out knocks the surveillance camera out of position
The explosion continues to die down but Houston Police have warned residents to ‘avoid the hot zone’
Footage taken from a helicopter shows fumes continuing to issue from the blast site in the northwest of the city this morning
Photos posted on Twitter showed a local gas station which had its front doors blown open by the impact
There was no immediate confirmation from authorities of injuries, but KTRK-TV interviewed a man who said he saw a bloodied man walking around afterward.
A fire burned following the explosion, and a firefighter asked a TV reporter to move away because of potential hazards.
Those who live nearby are being evacuated over fears of a secondary explosion and noxious gas.
It is not yet clear what caused the terrific explosion.
The blast came from the premises of Watson Grinding and Manufacturing, according to ABC, a machining and manufacturing company.
The blast came from the premises of Watson Grinding and Manufacturing a machining and manufacturing company
