Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) stopped by Port Arthur Sunday afternoon to take stock of the damage left by Hurricane Harvey and to offer words of hope.

“The message I am here to convey is one of encouragement,” he told media.

He explained that the entire state stands behind the Texas Gulf Coast and he believes federal funds will arrive soon to rebuild communities devastated by last week’s storms.

“The president has told Gov. Greg Abbott that Texas will get everything it needs to rebuild,” Cruz said.

The hurricane—and then the resulting Tropical Storm Harvey—ravaged southeast Texas last week. After the tropical storm touched down in this area early last week, it sat for days, dumping more than 50 inches of rainfall in a region accustomed to about 60 inches annually.

The result was an inundation that shut down Houston, Beaumont and Port Arthur—an event never before seen.

The World Meteorological Organization, a United Nations agency, said last week that the above average rainfall from Harvey was “very likely” caused by climate change, though the organization added that tropical storms have always existed.

When asked by the Port Arthur News whether the devastating flood—considered already to be more costly than Hurricane Katrina—would make him reconsider the risks of climate change, Cruz skirted the issue.

“There will be time for political argument later in the day,” he said.

However, Cruz did acknowledge that Harvey was different from other storms in its intensity and duration.

Cruz spoke at the Fifth Sixth Street Baptist Church at 548 Abe Lincoln Avenue surrounded by volunteers and tables offering water, food, cleaning supplies and the basic necessities needed to rebuilt a life. Cars were lined around the block waiting for donations and when the senator arrived, Cruz walked from car to car visiting with drivers and carrying along a large bottle of water, which he eventually gave up after about a block. Still, he continued on, chatting with the drivers.

Local officials were on hand to welcome the Republican senator, though the story was bigger than politics. Port Arthur Mayor Derrick Freeman said the effects of Tropical Storm Harvey touched everyone in Port Arthur.

“I’d say 90 percent of Port Arthur was flooded but 100 percent of our citizens were affected,” Freeman said.

As of Sunday, there were still flooded neighborhoods, but the water seems to have receded for the most part.

“We’re just about to start recovery,” the mayor said, and explained that city services, including trash pickup, would begin to return to normal on Monday.

However, evacuees remain displaced. Besides the people who left the city, Freeman said about 700 people remain in Thomas Jefferson Middle School, the city’s only remaining evacuee shelter. The city is encouraging folks to return home by offering points of distribution for various necessities like clothing, cleaning supplies, food and water throughout the city. The locations have not yet been established, though there is one point of distribution at Gillam Circle.

In the meantime, residents can find necessities and supplies at various churches in town, including the First Sixth Street Baptist Church.

Linda’s Lighthouse is leading that effort there. Founder Amber Lucas said she’s been collecting donations since Friday and since Saturday she and her cadre of volunteers have been handing out free supplies out via drive through to anyone who shows up. In two days she reckons she’s given away stuff to 4,500 people.

“We’re going to do it as long as we can keep it going,” she said. “So long as we have supplies.”

If anyone would like to donate something, they can drop it off at the rear of the church. Lucas said she is in particular need of cleaning supplies.

“Anything dealing with cleaning,” she said.

Inside the church, Esther Henderson collects toiletries and drops them in black bags. She ties off the end of each bag and drops one bag after the other into a large plastic bin.

Henderson’s been doing this since Thursday, all day every day.

Henderson is also an evacuee, and she has been living at the church.

“I want to help because I was flooded,” she said. “And I need help.”

Henderson is not alone in her dedication to the city. Police Chief Patrick Melvin said the Port Arthur Police Department was hit just as hard by the storm. He said the department lost 20 cars in the flood, but because of a massive volunteer effort by regional law enforcement officers, the citizens of Port Arthur have remained protected.

Melvin also praised his officers who, he said, remained professional and on duty no matter what happened at home.

“We have some officers who have lost everything they own,” Melvin said. “But you wouldn’t know it unless you stopped and asked them. They’ve been working so hard.”

Melvin said there have been a few flare-ups at the evacuee shelters, but he said for the most part people there have been well behaved.

Outside, on the streets, Melvin said there were a few reports of criminal activity.

“We had a few reports of looting,” he said. “And it was shameful. But we’ve been responding to it.”