Mysterious Gas Odor Cloud Drifts Through Houston, Prompting Temporary Evacuations, Fear and Annoyance

This may sound like a low-budget sci-fi movie plot, but it’s true: a mysterious, odorous gas cloud is floating through Houston, heading south. We can’t rule out an alien invasion, necessarily, because the source still hasn’t been identified.

No gas leaks have been found. But there’s good news: no hazardous gas or chemicals have been detected either.

Calls about unusual, gas-like smells started pouring into the Houston Fire Department at 9 am from Wallsiville Road in the northeast part of the city. And by 11 am, CenterPoint Energy had received 200 calls about the odor from across the city. CenterPoint and the fire department are working together to track down the smell.

The Bayou City’s taking the situation seriously. The City of Houston sent out alert calls around 10 this morning, and the Municipal Courts building at 1400 Lubbock was evacuated at 9:30 am. It’s since been given the all-clear. Court activity has resumed.

People, especially parents, are being proactive. The School at St. George Place informed parents that they were welcome to pick up their children at any time. With the gas smell strong by the school, all the doors to the building were propped open and the elementary school kids went outside with their teachers before eventually being let back into the building.

Houston’s Office of Emergency Management urges people who detect this odor to remain indoors, close their windows and turn off any air conditioning and/or any heating systems. Strangely, it is almost cool enough to turn on the heat in Houston on this strange October day.

One thing’s for sure — this bizarre situation hasn’t been a gas.