California and Texas may be known as political and economic rivals, but the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey has brought the states closer this week at a time of crisis.

The Lone Star State on Tuesday remained in critical need of help as historic levels of rain flooded much of Houston and other parts of southeast Texas, forcing tens of thousands of people to seek shelter while others waited for rescue several days into the storm.

Related: Hurricane Harvey: 5 ways social media saved lives in Texas

California has a ban on state-funded travel to Texas in protest of its anti-gay laws, but not even that has stopped the state from joining other state and federal agencies in sending much-needed assistance. California’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra, reiterated that support in a tweet.

https://twitter.com/AGBecerra/status/902275148991963136

How exactly is California helping Texas? Here are five ways the state is sending help to those in need.

California National Guard

Of the estimated 30,000 members of the National Guard from all over the country, 90 guardsmen from the California Air Nation Guard were deployed to assist in water rescues in Texas, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Many government officials

Rescue teams from all over California, including San Diego County, gathered their gear and boats to head to Texas where some streets were so flooded that people camped on their roofs awaiting rescue.

Those rescue teams included:

https://twitter.com/CoastGuardNews/status/901266726238777348

Massive blood donations

The Red Cross and other organizations were collecting blood donations in many parts of California, including Los Angeles, Ventura and Orange counties.

Journalists and others on Twitter urged people to donate blood after the storm shut down blood banks in Texas, as one of them explained.

https://twitter.com/JoeyHorta/status/902516185882877953

https://twitter.com/CenCABlood/status/902248060297764864

Pet and animal shelter

On Monday, more than 100 animals from Louisiana, where Tropical Storm Harvey prompted some evacuations, arrived in San Diego for temporary care, NBC San Diego reported.

Groups like RedRover, a nonprofit animal group based out of Sacramento, were expected to head to Texas to rescue small and large animals and shelter them in California, The Mercury News reported.

https://twitter.com/JohnGibbinsSDUT/status/902302559171260416

Food and supply donations

Ready Pac Foods out of Irwindale and World Vision out of Monrovia shipped truckloads of supplies and food to Texas, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reported, as part of individual efforts by companies and organizations to help relief efforts in Texas.

Ready Pac Foods sent 24,000 chicken caesar salad bowls in trucks last Friday. World Vision, a Christian organization, has so far shipped two truckloads of food, coolers, tarps, tents, sleeping bags and other supplies.

Large food grocers like Albertsons and Ralphs and Food 4 Less also said they would be collecting food donations from its California customers to send to Texas.

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Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com

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