US: State of emergency declared in Orange County

On May 23 (local time), Governor Gavin Newsom of California declared a state of emergency in Orange County following a toxic chemical leak at the GKN Aerospace facility in Garden Grove, forcing the evacuation of more than 50,000 people.

The scene of the chemical leak in Garden Grove. Photo: ANADOLU

According to CBS News, Orange County fire officials said the temperature inside the methyl methacrylate chemical storage tank continued to rise, creating an "extremely dangerous" situation. Field commander Craig Covey said the temperature in the tank increased from approximately 25°C to 32.2°C on May 23rd. The cause of the leak has not yet been determined, and no casualties have been reported.

Mr. Covey stated that the situation remains very serious, with the risk of the tank rupturing, spilling approximately 26 cubic meters of toxic chemicals or causing a chain reaction of explosions into nearby fuel and chemical tanks. Authorities are consulting with experts across the United States to find ways to prevent the disaster.

Authorities are currently using drones to monitor the temperature of the storage tanks every 10 minutes and maintain the cooling system.

GKN Aerospace has apologized to affected residents and businesses, stating that it is coordinating with emergency services to handle the situation as safely as possible.

The evacuation order was extended to a radius of approximately 1.7 km around the industrial complex, affecting areas in Garden Grove, Cypress, Stanton, Anaheim, Buena Park, and Westminster. Numerous schools were forced to close indefinitely.

KHANH MINH

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/my-ban-bo-tinh-trang-khan-cap-tai-quan-cam-post854159.html