Pasadena, Deer Park joint recovery center helping residents get back on their feet after tornado

PASADENA, Texas — Tornadoes caused significant damage to buildings and homes in Deer Park and Pasadena on Tuesday.

As people looked to rebuild, The City of Pasadena and Emergency Management Office announced a joint disaster recovery center for Pasadena and Deer Park residents to help navigate people through resources available to them.

The disaster recovery center will be open through the weekend to assist those in need as people start to rebuild.

On the ground, days after the tornadoes, blue tarps covered homes, businesses were picking up what’s been damaged and people were working through one of the toughest events in their life emotionally and physically. 

“I mean, what do you do? What do you tell anybody? If you’re alive, you beat the system,” Bill Soape, a Pasadena resident and business owner said. 

Soape has owned his Pasadena building for 16 years and uses it to help supplement his Social Security income.

The building is next to his home, which was also damaged by the tornado. 

“I think that had to be a God thing,” Soape said. “For all the damage, nobody got killed. I thought that was amazing in itself.”

After the storm, resources were made available to help those impacted start to rebuild.

“She heard what sounded like a train to her coming right towards her house, so she started praying more and next thing you know the roof collapsed and the house started flooding a little bit and you know she passed out,” Jamie Ayala, the grandson of a woman whose home was destroyed, said. 

Norma Ayala’s home caved in during the storm and was left unlivable. 

She survived the EF3 tornado with just a scratch on her wrist after being rescued by her neighbors.

“Unfortunately, my grandmother wasn’t insured at the time, so, right now there’s no immediate action that we can take to start rebuilding her house,” Ayala said. 

The family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for rebuilding costs.