40,000 evacuated as chemical leak raises explosion fears in Southern California

Authorities in Southern California were scrambling Friday (22 May) to prevent a possible explosion at a chemical storage tank after a hazardous leak forced nearly 40,000 people to evacuate from several cities in Orange County.

Officials said a storage tank containing between 6,000 and 7,000 gallons of methyl methacrylate, a chemical used in making plastic parts, overheated on Thursday and began releasing dangerous vapours at an aerospace plastics facility in Garden Grove.

The leaking tank at GKN Aerospace could crack and spill toxic chemicals onto the ground or even explode, according to Orange County Fire Authority Division Chief Craig Covey.

"This thing is going to fail, and we don't know when," Covey told reporters. "We are trying our best to stop it or reduce the risk."

Evacuation orders, initially issued for Garden Grove residents, were later expanded to parts of five nearby cities – Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park and Westminster – after crews failed to stop the leak overnight.

GKN Aerospace manufactures parts for commercial and military aircraft.

Authorities said no injuries or deaths had been reported.

Later on Friday, officials said emergency crews had managed to stabilize the tank's temperature, giving them more time to work on a solution.

Garden Grove, located about 38 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, is home to one of the largest Vietnamese communities in the United States. The city is also less than a mile from Disneyland, although the theme parks were not included in evacuation orders.

Residents described scenes of panic and uncertainty after receiving emergency alerts.

Danny Pham, who lives a few blocks from the plant, said he was asleep when his roommate woke him early Friday and told him to evacuate immediately.

"It was shocking," Pham said. "I never thought something like this could happen."

He quickly left with only his wallet and passport and later took shelter at a friend's restaurant in a nearby city.

By Friday afternoon, Pham said he still did not know where he would spend the night and worried he might be away from home for several days.

Officials said crews placed sandbags around the area to contain any possible spill and stop the chemical from reaching storm drains, creeks or the ocean.

Orange County health officer Dr Regina Chinsio-Kwong warned that the chemical vapor could cause breathing problems, eye irritation, nausea and headaches if exposed to high heat.

Authorities said crews had successfully stabilised one damaged tank earlier, but the remaining tank was considered the biggest threat.

GKN Aerospace said hazardous materials experts were continuing to assess the situation.

"Our priority remains the safety of employees, emergency responders and the surrounding community," the company said in a statement.

Many residents also worried about whether elderly and non-English-speaking people fully understood the evacuation warnings.

Kim Yen, a retired resident who lives two blocks from the leak site, said she rushed to her daughter's home after receiving an emergency alert on her phone Thursday night.

She feared some members of the Vietnamese community might ignore the warning because it was issued in English.

"This is scary," she said.

When she briefly returned home Friday morning to collect medicines and important documents, she found the neighborhood nearly empty, with police officers going door to door to ensure residents had evacuated.

Garden Grove Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein urged residents to follow official instructions.

"We understand this is frightening," she said. "But the evacuation orders are for your safety."

Local Vietnamese television channels later translated official updates and urged residents to remain alert.