SANDERSON, Texas — In the small town of Sanderson, disaster struck on Sunday night.
The aftermath leaves a lone file cabinet in one area, roofs torn off for some and for others, houses no longer homes.
Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland says their needs are met, but assessments continue on the damage.
“So here locally we have already declared a disaster in our county," said Sheriff Cleveland. "That’ll go up through TDEM (Texas Division of Emergency Management) to the governor’s office and then based on those assessments they’ll make a determination what sort of aid will be available to us here and whether we kick that up to a national level.”
Despite this reality, the 800 people of Terrell County are hard at work.
Community members who live in this area and in Sanderson are all coming together to help clean up.
“We’re small, we all live together, we all go to church together, we spend most of our time together here in this community," Sheriff Cleveland said. "And we’re largely a law enforcement community with U.S. Border Patrol -- we’re all linked, and we all care for one another and people are surely showing how much that they do care for each other.”
It's a community down but not out.
“I’ve gone around and given everybody a hug [and] checked on them, other deputies are out delivering water to everybody in the community to make sure they have it," Sheriff Cleveland said. "Again, I know everybody in this community, we all know each other, and to be able to look at each other and know that we’re still here and know that this other stuff can be replaced — that’s where we get the joy and our faith in God.”
Sheriff Cleveland also says that the Border Patrol agent who was badly hurt is now in stable condition, and others injured have been tended to.
Local U.S. Border Patrol and surrounding counties and cities in West Texas pitched in support Sunday night and Monday.