Authorities in Southern California on Friday were racing to figure out how to prevent the explosion of a storage tank that has been leaking a hazardous chemical used to make plastic parts, as some 40,000 people were under evacuation orders in the area.

About 40,000 people were under evacuation orders and schools shut down Friday in Southern California after a storage tank continued to leak a hazardous chemical that officials…

About 40,000 people are under evacuation orders and schools have shut down in Southern California due to a hazardous chemical leak.