Chemical firms donate millions to support Hurricane Harvey relief

(updates throughout)

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Chemical and energy firms have donated several millions of dollars to help relief efforts in the wake of the floods and other damage caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston and eastern Texas.

As of Tuesday, companies donating larger sums include Dow Chemical, Chevron, ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell, SABIC and Phillips 66, among others. Most donations are to the American Red Cross.

ExxonMobil announced on Friday before Hurricane Harvey made land fall that it was allocating $500,000 to relief efforts. On Tuesday, the company announced a $500,000 increase to a total of $1m.

Chevron, Dow, Phillips 66 and Shell announced donations of $1m each, while LyondellBasell and SABIC announced donations of $200,000.

While the damage caused by Harvey is still unfolding, observers have called Harvey – which made landfall on 25 August as a category 4 hurricane hitting Houston and eastern Texas – the worst storm to strike the US since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 devastated New Orleans.

So far, officials reported at least 10 deaths caused by Harvey in Texas. Heavy rains and flooding are expected to continue through Friday.

Additional reporting by Tracy Dang, Al Greenwood and David Haydon