Texas Fertilizer Plant Explosion Shows Up on Google Maps

Not long after reports that a massive fertilizer plant explosion occurred in Texas on Wednesday night, a map featuring key points of interest from the scene has been added to Google Maps.

Reddit user OverR created a custom map of the incident on Google Maps, highlighting evacuated areas, places with reported injuries and an identifier where the natural gas leak allegedly started.

Google Maps allows users to create and share personalized annotated maps. The Reddit user's map of the fertilizer plant is public and open for those to edit with new information and details.

The explosion happened at about 8:50 p.m. ET at a fertilizer plant in West, Texas, about 18 miles outside of Waco. As of press time, officials told CNN that the number of causalities could reach up to 70 people. The incident is reportedly caused by a fire that eventually sparked a huge explosion. Many nearby homes have been destroyed.

Officials are concerned how the air quality from the fumes could affect residents. As a result, areas surrounding the town have been closed off.

For a full look at the region, check out Google Maps, here.

1. 1. The Badlands Guardian

   This natural formation in Alberta, Canada is known as the Badlands Guardian and looks strikingly similar to a native American wearing a headdress. If you look close enough, it looks like he's wearing a pair of earphones, but that section is actually a man-made road and oil well.

   

2. 2. Firefox Crop Circle

   The Firefox crop circle in Oregon was created by the Oregon State University Linux Users group in 2006 to mark the web browser's 50 millionth download.

   

3. 3. Shipwreck

   This shipwreck in the Red Sea is captured on Google Maps.

   

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5. 5. Area 52 Formation

   This mysterious crop circle is located near the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, also known as Area 52. The area is owned by the United States Department of Energy and is a restricted military installation.

   

6. 6. The Rainbow Plane

   This plane flying above Rock Hill, S.C. evokes a rainbow of colors as it soars through the air.

   

7. 7. Mysterious Russian Site

   We're not entirely sure why this location in Russia has been blurred out, especially since it's in the Siberian tundra. The closest city is Egvekinot, Russia, which is a neighbor to Alaska across the Bering Strait.

   

8. 8. North Korea

   Aside from the city of Pyongyang, much of North Korea is not visible on Google Maps. Zooming in to North Korea -- a nation known for its Internet censorship -- will most likely get you an up-close look at rocky terrain.

   

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11. 11. Landed UFO?

    This structure looks like a UFO landed on top of the Inkpot building in the Netherlands, but it's actually supposed to look that way. The UFO statue was added as a part of a previously held exhibition and was never removed.

    

12. 12. Wanker

    Google Maps captured this image -- not a crop circle -- over the lawn of a home in suburban town of Nawton, in the Hamilton region of New Zealand.

    

Screenshot image courtesy of Google Maps