 Numerous petrochemical refineries are still located in the same port area of Texas City.The city has often referred to itself as "the town that would not die," a moniker whose accuracy would be tested once again in the days surrounding Hurricane Ike's assault on the region early on September 13, 2008.On October 30, 1987, a crane at the Marathon Oil refinery accidentally dropped its load on a tank of liquid hydrogen fluoride, causing a release of of hydrogen fluoride gas and requiring 3,000 residents to be evacuated.