Two people were killed and at least 10 people were hospitalized after a tornado ripped through the town of Laguna Heights near Brownsville, Texas, early Saturday morning.
The National Weather Service in Brownsville (NWS) alerted that tornado touched down locally at 4:30 a.m. Laguna Heights is about 180 miles from the city of Corpus Christi and is located on the Mexican border about 41 miles northwest of Matamoros.
Tornado Warning including Laguna Heights TX and Laguna Vista TX until 4:30 AM CDT pic.twitter.com/Ji9MLKRxaX
— NWS Brownsville (@NWSBrownsville) May 13, 2023
The City of Port Isabel's Facebook account shared the information and detailed that"multiple structures suffered extensive damage and power lines were damaged causing some outages."
The Laguna Madre area has been affected by its fourth weather event in as many weeks. Overnight, a tornado caused severe damage to Laguna Heights, the community between Port Isabel and Laguna Vista (...) Teams from multiple agencies, including Port Isabel Public Works are on site assisting with recovery and cleanup.
Emergency crews arrived on the scene and shared thattraffic was also affected due to the cleanup work because of debris on the roads.
UPDATE: Between Laguna Heights & SH 48. https://t.co/WIwuxkTiMI
— TxDOT Pharr District (@TxDOTPharr) May 13, 2023
The Bronwsville NWS reported that "an inspection team" was to conduct a damage assessment.
We are aware of some damage and injuries that occurred in the Laguna Heights, TX area early this morning around 4 AM. We have a survey team headed out there right now to conduct a damage assessment to determine if a tornado did occur. Updates to come later today. #rgvwx #txwx
— NWS Brownsville (@NWSBrownsville) May 13, 2023
More severe storms and flooding threaten Texas
The NWS predicted heavy rains this weekend and early next week in Texas. This means a threat of flash flooding in some areas of the state. The greatest threats will be represented by possible thunderstorms (with wind gusts over 60 mph and hail).
Heavy rainfall this weekend and into early next week will mean a threat for flash flooding for portions of Texas.
NEVER drive around barricades into floodwaters. More than 50% of all flood fatalities are vehicle related. It only takes 12 inches of fast-moving water to carry off… pic.twitter.com/YKgKMLVTJB
— National Weather Service (@NWS) May 12, 2023
