LAGUNA HEIGHTS, Texas – It has been a week since Laguna Heights was hit by a tornado, killing one person and destroying dozens of homes.
Some of the wooden and trailer houses damaged by the Saturday, May 13, twister that swept through a section of this small community along Texas Highway 100 are still standing while others are completely gone.
Cleaning the debris left by the twister continues as crews could be seen Friday tearing down or fixing up some of the structures.
Although the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross have been spearheading the relief effort, other organizations and businesses have been providing assistance as well.
Texas LNG, a Glenfarne Energy Transition company, is among them.
On Friday, the company provided 500 plates with barbecue chicken and all the trimmings to anyone impacted by the twister and to those working or helping with the cleaning.
Micah Hirschfield, head of communications for Texas LNG and Glenfarne Energy Transition, said they decided to help out as they started learning about the devastation left by the tornado.
“This came out within the last thirty six hours,” he said, referring to the meals they provided Friday. ”We are all about helping the local county.”
Hirschfield said Texas LNG plans to build a liquefied natural gas terminal at the Port of Brownsville in the near future that will create some 1,200 construction jobs and about 100 full-time ones.
He said some of these workers will probably come from Laguna Heights.
“We saw what had happened,” he said. “We wanted to provide a tangible way to help and came out with these five hundred plates.”
Ezequiel Rodriguez, a Salvation Army worker, said they have served more than 4,000 meals since last Saturday.
After the line of people slowed down in front of the Salvation Army relief truck, Hirschfield and about a dozen others jumped on the bed of a pickup truck and drove the vehicle along the streets impacted by the tornado.
They handed out BBQ plates and soft drinks to people who approached the truck.
Alfredo Jimenez, a Laguna Height resident, was thankful for that.
“We lost everything,” he said, as he and group of people were out of the sun under a tent. ”We are staying with relatives for the time being. We need help.”
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