Boom! Rachel Maddow ahead of the news!

Exclusive! Follow the Rachel Maddow show for advanced information on exclusive coverage. She's ahead of the news cycles, like when she opened her Aug. 30 show with news about this horrible chemical plant explosion in Texas, in the wake of hurricane Harvey flooding. 

Rachel Maddow is ahead of the news & reports breaking news

But, Maddow reported the event in the anticipation of it happening, not after the fact.

Harvey-damaged Arkema chemical plant explosion expected

Matt Dempsey, data reporter on the investigative team at the Houston Chronicle, talks with Rachel Maddow about the immediate peril from the damaged Arkema chemical plant.

CROSBY, Texas — Two explosions shook a flooded chemical plant near Houston early Thursday, sending a plume of black smoke into the air and triggering an intense fire that continued to burn.

Authorities warned that further blasts were likely to occur on site since chemicals weren't being stored at the appropriate temperatures after the facility lost power following Hurricane Harvey.

Residents in a 1.5-mile radius of the Arkema Inc. plant were first evacuated Tuesday, and the water levels there remain too dangerous for workers to assess the situation from the ground, officials added.

"That's why we want people to respect [the] radius. It's not over. This is very serious and we know that," Richard Rennard, of Arkema Group, said at a news conference.

He added that the explosions were not massive, and that the pressure building up inside the containers where the chemicals are located eventually produces a "popping sound."

The smoke that was emanating from the facility irritated the eyes and throats of more than a dozen law enforcement officers who were monitoring the scene, said Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez. Some of them went to the hospital out of precaution.

"It's basically like standing over a barbecue pit or something like that, where you get smoke in your eyes," he added.

The plant in Crosby, Texas — about 20 miles northeast of Houston — was inundated by more than 40 inches of rain from Harvey and has been without electricity since Sunday.

The plant manufactures organic peroxides commonly used in everyday products like kitchen countertops, industrial paints, polystyrene cups and plates, and PVC piping. 

The materials must be kept very cool, otherwise there is "the potential for a chemical reaction leading to a fire and/or explosion within the site confines," Arkema said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott was the state's attorney general when he supported deregulation of the chemical plants, like Arkema, reported by Maddow

MaineWriter opinion- Governor Greg Abbott must resign because it was his attorney general's actions that prevented regulations from monitoring the goings on at Arkema.