Drenching rain along the Texas-Mexico border let up Friday, but rescues were still ongoing a day after severe storms trapped residents in their homes, caused drivers to abandon their vehicles on flooded roads, and closed an airport.
Local officials also reported at least three people died from the rainstorm.
Hidalgo County officials said there was no immediate information on the three deaths, but they did involve law enforcement. US Customs and Border Protection reported one death involving US Border Patrol agents. Agents approached a car suspected of being involved in human smuggling that had stopped on a flooded road near Edcouch. As the agents approached, the driver attempted to cross the flooded street, which plunged the vehicle into a canal.
Harlingen officials reported a record-breaking 21.5 inches of rain this week, smashing the city’s all-time two-day total rainfall record, which was set in 1912. The worst downpour fell on Thursday, producing major flooding that required authorities to rescue more than 200 individuals, with another 200 people still waiting to be saved.
“This of course has been a historic and challenging event for the city. But Harlingen is strong. We have faced adversity before and we will get through this together,” Mayor Norma Sepulveda said at a Friday afternoon news conference.
In Alamo, police and fire departments reacted to over 100 water rescues, including individuals stranded in their vehicles and trapped in their homes, according to Fire Department Chief R.C. Flores at a news conference Friday afternoon.
Officials anticipated that the severe rains flooded a couple of hundred homes in Alamo.
Flores said Alamo was one of many places in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas that were flooded and damaged by Thursday’s thunderstorms, but that everyone was working to assist their inhabitants.
“I assure the public that we are assessing the situation on the hour, every hour. We’re constantly going out, not just in our city,” Flores said. “Just because the storm is over, it doesn’t mean that the emergencies and the disaster is over. We are going to continue to work as long as we need to.”
Weslaco Mayor Adrian Gonzalez said his city received roughly 14 inches of rain, resulting in 30 to 40 water rescues of stranded automobiles and inhabitants trapped in their homes by rising floodwaters.
“It’s a historic rainstorm and it’s affecting all the Valley, not just Weslaco. It’s just so much water in a short period of time,” Gonzalez told reporters at a news conference.
On Thursday, television news images from flooded cities in South Texas showed many soaked automobiles abandoned on the streets and drivers waiting on sidewalks for floodwaters to recede.
According to the National Weather Service, many sections of South Texas received 6 inches to 12 inches of rain over the last 24 hours.Cameron County officials urged Gov. Greg Abbott to declare a disaster after more than 17 inches of rain caused major flooding.
“The rainfall volumes we received were record-breaking, and not in a good way. Cameron County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr., the county’s top elected official, stated on Facebook that all county resources are now being utilized and that they are aiding in every way they can.
Valley International Airport in Harlingen was closed on Friday, and all flights were canceled due to water. “We are working tirelessly to reopen and are focused on ensuring safety,” airport officials stated in a statement.
AEP Texas said that more than 3,400 people in numerous South Texas counties were still without power on Friday afternoon. The National Weather Service reported that a flood warning remained in effect for parts of South Texas, including Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy counties, as of early Friday afternoon.
“There’s a break from the rain this morning, which will allow flood waters to gradually recede, but we’ll still need to keep an eye on the development of isolated showers and thunderstorms once again this afternoon,” the National Weather Service said on social media. “Any additional rainfall will be quick to cause flooding issues given the heavy rainfall that has already fallen.”
Alamo officials planned to keep one middle school open as a shelter for locals until Friday. Weslaco established a shelter, and Harlingen officials opened the city’s convention center as one.
More than 20 South Texas school districts and college campuses canceled classes on Friday due to inclement weather and floods.
