EF1 Tornado touches down in Laguna Heights, killing one and injuring 11

LAGUNA HEIGHTS, Texas — Note: A previous version of this story quoted a county official saying that two people were killed by the tornado. Officials on Saturday afternoon said just one person has died.

A tornado touched down in Laguna Heights, near the South Texas community of Brownsville, around 4 a.m. Saturday, killing one person and injuring 11, according to Cameron County officials.

The National Weather Service later classified it as an EF1 tornado that potentially reached wind speeds of 110 mph, based on an initial damage assessment.

Cameron County Emergency Management Coordinator Tom Hushen told KENS 5 up to 60 homes had been damaged or destroyed by the tornado. The tornado was only on the ground for two minutes but Hushen said it still went across at least four different streets in a residential area before finally turning into the bay nearby. 

County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. said one person died after being crushed in their mobile home. He said there were some initial reports on social media that stated two people had died but those reports were incorrect. Hushen said none of the 11 injured individuals were in critical condition as of 5 p.m. on Saturday. 

National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Barry Goldsmith said in a Saturday press conference that many homes in the area have subpar construction and some may not be up to any building codes. 

“Unfortunately we see a lot of this in the valley where these very substandard homes in neighborhoods that are post-colonia are still well below code. Not even to code with the Texas wind-storm insurance association, also below even manufactured home code,” Goldsmith. “Some of what you see out there is not built to any code…”

Goldsmith said this would explain why other structures stayed up while some homes were destroyed. 

Multiple structures received “extensive damage and powerlines were damaged, causing some outages,” Port Isabel officials said in a social media post. Search-and-rescue efforts remain ongoing. 

“We’re very fortunate there was not more life lost,” Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. said Saturday afternoon. “We can rebuild property, but loss of life is something we want to avoid.”

Treviño said a litany of local, regional and state agencies are assisting in the aftermath of the deadly weather event. The Port Isabel Event Center is being used to shelter people affected by the storm.

The westbound lanes of Highway 100 at 510 are back open to traffic, as is one eastbound lane, according to the Port Isabel Police Department, which previously said the route into Laguna Heights would be closed all day.

The Cameron County Sheriff’s Department will be increasing patrols in the area and will enforce a curfew at sundown which will prevent people from going into the community unless they live there. 

Crews are currently working to clear debris and downed power lines. The police department confirmed that multiple structures were destroyed by the tornado.

A KENS 5 crew was traveling to the site Saturday morning, and we will update this story as we learn more information.

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