Approximately 40,000 people in Garden Grove and surrounding areas of Orange County, California were ordered to evacuate Thursday after a chemical storage tank began leaking and raised fears of a potential explosion, according to emergency officials. The orders affected a significant swath of the densely populated Southern California city.

Authorities identified the leaking tank as containing a hazardous chemical and warned that structural failure could trigger an explosion, prompting the large-scale precautionary evacuation. Emergency crews were deployed to the scene as officials worked to assess and contain the situation.

The evacuation orders displaced tens of thousands of residents, with local authorities coordinating shelters and directing traffic away from the affected zone. Officials urged people in the evacuation area to leave immediately and avoid the surrounding streets.

Orange County emergency management agencies worked alongside fire and hazmat teams in response to the incident. The scale of the evacuation reflected the severity of the potential risk posed by the compromised tank. No explosion had been reported as of the latest updates, and crews remained on scene.

The incident drew widespread attention given the size of the affected population and the proximity of the tank to residential neighborhoods. Officials did not immediately provide a timeline for when evacuation orders might be lifted, saying the situation remained under active assessment.