Culture

Downtown Houston Was Rocked By An Explosion During Ongoing Harvey Rescue Operations

As the city of Houston prepares for yet another onslaught of record-setting floods during Tropical Storm Harvey, an explosion rocked its downtown area late Monday morning. According to local ABC affiliate KTRK, the explosion apparently hit the Lone Star Legal Aid offices at a building near the corner of Bell and Fannin streets. Witness Eliud Balderas heard the blast from his nearby apartment and captured its immediate aftermath in a Twitter video. The incident occurred just a few blocks away from the Toyota Center, the home of the Houston Rockets, and the George R. Brown Convention Center, which has been set up as a shelter.

“Next to my apartments,” Balderas tweeted, “we just heard an explosion!!” Toward the end of the video, police cars and other emergency services vehicles began arriving on the scene. A subsequent photo posted elsewhere on Twitter revealed fire engine crews had doused the flames produced by the explosion. Balderas meanwhile tweeted a photo of the smoky aftermath, saying “I had to walk away [because] the smoke was getting too big!” Per KTRK, authorities have yet to determine what caused the blast, but we’ll bring you updates if and when they develop.

(Via KTRK)