The day after Hurricane Laura rolled through parts of Louisiana and Texas, Rikesh Patel, the owner of several McDonald’s in Louisiana, made a call to corporate. Within 24 hours, a restaurant on wheels arrived in Lake Charles to help feed families in need of a hot meal.
Laura, the strongest hurricane to strike the state of Louisiana since 1856, deprived many of their basic necessities, damaged homes and businesses, knocked down power lines and caused flooding in some areas. The storm left six people dead in Louisiana, including at least four from falling trees.
Patel estimates 90% of residents are still without electricity and running water, even two weeks after landfall.
“Pictures don’t do it (destruction) justice,” he said. “It’s so much worse than what you’re seeing on social media.”
And without running water or electricity, having fresh, warm meals would have been difficult.
Patel’s quick thinking prompted him to call McDonald’s corporate office just one day after Laura made landfall in hopes of receiving a self-sustained mobile kitchen known as the McRig. The next day, the kitchen on wheels arrived from Kentucky.
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Derailed train cars lie on their side in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on August 29.
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President Donald Trump tours the damage in Lake Charles on August 29.
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A building sits partially submerged in water in Hackberry, Louisiana, on August 28.
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Rachel Ellis, left, and J’Nay Fitch salvage items from the AutoZone store where they work in Lake Charles on August 28.
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A person stands in front of a damaged vehicle near Orange, Texas, on August 28.
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Pousson’s Laundromat and Barbershop is left in ruins in Westlake, Louisiana.
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This aerial photo shows a devastated neighborhood outside of Lake Charles on August 27.
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Maria Ramirez and her 17-year-old son, Jose Avila, survey the damage to their home in Orange, Texas, on August 27.
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Mannequins are strewn on the floor at the Hair Saga store after Hurricane Laura passed through Lake Charles on August 27.
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A man walks through a debris-filled hallway on the second floor of a Lake Charles church that lost its roof on August 27.
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Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
People survey the damage to their Lake Charles neighborhood on August 27.
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A McDonald’s sign is damaged in Iowa, Louisiana, on August 27.
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Ahmed Nawaz looks at the damage in his store in Lake Charles on August 27.
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Smoke rises from a chemical fire at a Lake Charles plant on August 27. Plant managers were trying to contain a chlorine leak, according to state police. Details about what started the fire weren’t immediately available.
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A person holds a photo taken from a damaged home in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, on August 27.
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Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Damage is seen at an office building lobby in Lake Charles on August 27.
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Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
This aerial photo shows the roof blown off an AutoZone store in Lake Charles on August 27.
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Benjamin Luna helps recover items from the children’s wing of the First Pentecostal Church in Orange, Texas, on August 27.
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Dozens of small fish are trapped inland after the hurricane ripped through Holly Beach, Louisiana.
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Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
Louisiana National Guard Pfc. Devin Lejeune helps search a Lake Charles apartment complex for people in need.
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Martin Almanza paddles a canoe through a flooded section of Galveston, Texas, on August 27.
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Photos: Hurricane Laura leaves trail of destruction
The Capitol One Bank Tower is seen with its windows blown out in downtown Lake Charles.
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Latasha Myles and Howard Anderson stand in their Lake Charles living room, which is where they were sitting when the roof blew off around 2:30 a.m. on August 27.
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A tangle of power lines hangs over a street in Lake Charles.
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The driver of an overturned 18-wheeler exits his vehicle after police arrive to the scene along Interstate 10 in Vinton, Texas. Both the driver and a passenger suffered minor injuries.
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A person walks past a destroyed building in Lake Charles.
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Flooding is seen in Sabine Pass, Texas.
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A structure is flattened near a beach in Lake Charles.
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The L’Auberge Casino Resort is seen after the lights went out in Lake Charles.
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Shrimp boat Sea Lion V prepares for Hurricane Laura’s landfall on August 26.
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This photo of Hurricane Laura was taken from aboard the International Space Station on August 26.
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Victoria Nelson lines up her children, Autum, Shawn and Asia, as they board a bus to evacuate Lake Charles on August 26.
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A sheriff’s deputy wipes his face while manning a roadblock in Lake Charles on August 26.
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Families line up to board buses to evacuate Lake Charles on August 26.
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Children play at the Circuit of the Americas racetrack, where some evacuees were settling in Austin, Texas, on August 26.
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Demeteri Bushnell is hugged by her great-niece as they and other evacuees prepare to board a bus in Lake Charles.
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Traffic is at a near-standstill on Interstate 10 as people evacuate the region near Jennings, Louisiana, on August 25.
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A US Postal Service employee covers a mailbox with plastic wrap in Galveston, Texas. The plastic wrap signals that the final mail has been cleared from the box, and it prevents people from placing mail inside that could be lost in a flood.
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An evacuee waits to board a bus in Port Arthur, Texas, on August 25.
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Nick Gaido, left, helps board up windows at his seafood restaurant in Galveston.
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Roman Tatriot, with the help of family and friends, rounds up cattle in Cameron, Louisiana, so he can get them to higher ground.
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A family walks to a charter bus that would take them from Galveston Island to Austin.
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Katy Gay carries a dog as the Houston SPCA transferred more than 100 animals to the Austin Humane Society.
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People wait to board a bus to leave Galveston.
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People make sandbags at St. Raymond Church in New Orleans.
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People tie down their vessels along Louisiana’s Lake Pontchartrain on August 23.
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People stand in long lines before entering a New Orleans Costco to pick up supplies.
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Michael Kent moves his boat in Venice, Louisiana, on August 23.
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Crews bring sandbags to help with flooding prevention in Belle Chasse, Louisiana.
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Cesar Reyes, right, carries a sheet of plywood as he helps install window coverings at a business in Galveston.
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Houston firefighters prepare rescue equipment in advance of the storm.
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From there, Patel rallied whatever employees he could to staff the truck and serve as many people possible.
For six days thereafter, Patel said they served over 10,000 free brown bag meals of McDonald’s cheeseburgers, fries and bottled water.
For six days, Patel and his staff offered brown bag meals to the Lake Charles community.
“It was just really neat to see the whole family aspect, of how we’ve always said we’re like a family and it just really came to life during such a tragedy,” he said.
Patel owns and operates 25 McDonald’s in Louisiana, eight of which are in Lake Charles and surrounding areas. He said his Lake Charles locations were the most affected and remain closed because they don’t have power or running water and there’s severe building damage. Patel said he has about 400-500 employees at those eight Lake Charles locations and estimates 90-95% of them evacuated ahead of Laura.
For employees who did come back, Patel said he’s offered to give them time and a half pay and housing for those whose homes were damaged.
A McDonald’s spokesperson told CNN the McRigs are typically used for disaster relief and community events.
Even though they’re not operating the McRig anymore, there’s still a lot of work to be done within the community, Patel said. With restaurants slowly opening back up, he said he wants to give his employees an opportunity to still make money while serving meals to those in need. Some of Patel’s restaurants have opened again with a limited menu and hours.
The immediate needs of the community are still essential supplies: Generators, water, meals that are easy to transport, according to Patel.
“We know that the rebuilding process will take a lot of time,” he said. “But we know that Lake Charles is going to come through this and that we’ll be stronger than ever.”
