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Texas train derails forcing Mauriceville residents, schools to evacuate after chemical spill and power outage

All schools within a one-mile radius of the accident and nearly 600 people were evacuated, many of whom lost power when the out-of-control train knocked down a row of power lines

ORANGE COUNTY, TEXAS: On Thursday, October 29, a Texas train derailed spilling chemicals, knocking out power in the surrounding area in the morning and forcing hundreds of people living nearby to evacuate.

"On the morning of October 29th, 2020 at approximately 7.30 am, a KCS train derailed on Farm to Market road 1130 in Orange County, Texas involving 25 rail cars – 10 rail cars empty and 15 rail cars loaded. Five confirmed tank cars were breached, four were leaking a petroleum product that did not represent a risk to the general population and the fifth involves a corrosive product that is being contained," Orange County Office of Emergency Management said in a statement, according to Beaumont Enterprise. 

The statement added, "At the time of the derailment, out of an abundance of caution, a 1 mile exclusion zone was established and will begin reducing that zone in the next several hours. There are no injuries reported at this time and approximately 600 residents are affected. KCS is working quickly with local and state agencies to clean the spilled products."

All schools within a one-mile radius of the train that derailed and nearly 600 people were evacuated, many of whom lost power when the out-of-control train knocked down a row of power lines. District officials said that students at an elementary school and a middle school outside the evacuation area were told to shelter in place until they could be safely evacuated. There were no reported injuries. 

The sheriff also shared aerial photos of the crash which showed a series of mangled train cars piled up on the tracks, some of them badly torn up while others flipped upside-down or on their sides. A cloud of smoke covered the area. Some of the cars were damaged while the rest of the train continued to slide forward. 

Utility company Entergy tweeted, "MAURICEVILLE: A train derailment has caused damage to our equipment and is preventing access to the area to assess damage and restore power. We're working with local officials to restore power where it is safe to do so. Visit our outage map for the latest."

Entergy spokesperson Allie Payne later said about 2,400 people were left without power at the peak of disruption and 140 have since had power restored. Emergency workers had to reset seven power poles after crews were able to work around the debris.

Orange County Emergency Management later mentioned in an update, saying, "Anyone living in this affected area should remain out of the area while hazmat cleanup continues. The Mauriceville Middle School and Mauriceville Elementary School campuses will be closed on Friday, October 30, 2020. If you live in this designated area and need to shelter, contact the Red Cross at 1-866-526-8300."

As a result, officials began allowing some residents to return home after the evacuation. Kansas City Southern was working with local and state agencies on the cleanup, the sheriff said. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) said emergency responders were monitoring the air for contaminants and helping local officials.

In a statement, TCEQ said, "The Orange Fire Department has established Incident Command to coordinate response efforts. TCEQ is working with Incident Command to assess impacts, provide support and serve as a resource to local emergency response personnel, as needed during the initial response phase. The responsible party has hired a contractor to conduct air monitoring and TCEQ emergency response staff are also conducting air monitoring using handheld equipment in the area around the derailment site. TCEQ staff will also assess the area for other impacts and will address accordingly. The response is ongoing."