At least 4 dead after severe storms in the South Texas-Mexico border
region and hundreds rescued
[March 29, 2025]
By VALERIE GONZALEZ and JUAN A. LOZANO
McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Drenching rains along the Texas-Mexico border
trapped hundreds of people in flooded homes and in cars stranded in high
waters, scrambling rescue crews to calls for help that continued Friday
even as the downpours let up. At least four people died, including some
who drowned.
Officials warned that the devastation from the storms — which set
records in parts of Texas' low-lying Rio Grande Valley — was only
starting to come into focus. In Mexico, hundreds sought temporary
shelter, and videos on social media showed military personnel wading
through chest-high waters.
On the U.S. side, officials said at least three people were killed in
Hidalgo County, where officials said more than 21 inches (53
centimeters) of rain this week soaked the city of Harlingen. The region
is rich with farmland, and Texas' agriculture commissioner said the
damage included significant losses to agriculture and livestock.
“The bed is the only thing dry right now, because the sofas are soaked.
Everything is soaked,” said Jionni Ochoa, 46, from his home in Palm
Valley, near Harlingen. He and his wife were still waiting to be rescued
Friday as the water inside reached their knees.
He said water started coming into their house the previous night and
began pouring out of the electrical sockets. They turned off the power
and tried to save as much as they could.
“Things I stacked up, the rain, the water made it float, and it knocked
it down. So everything got messed up, everything got ruined,” Ochoa
said.
Hidalgo County officials said in a statement that they did not
immediately have more information about the three deaths except that
they involved law enforcement efforts. The Mexican state of Tamaulipas
reported that an 83-year-old man drowned in Reynosa, which is across the
border from McAllen, Texas.
Earlier Friday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a
statement that the driver of a vehicle suspected of taking part in
migrant smuggling tried crossing a flooded roadway in Hidalgo County and
plunged into a canal. The agency said the body of one person who drowned
was recovered and another was missing. It was not immediately known if
those were among the deaths reported by county officials.
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A crowd of vehicles lay stranded on frontage road in front the
McAllen Convention Center during a downpour on Thursday, March 27,
2025, in McAllen, Texas. (Joel Martinez /The Monitor via AP)
In Alamo, a small Texas border city, crews responded to more than
100 water rescues, including people stranded in vehicles and trapped
in homes, Fire Department Chief R.C. Flores said. Dozens more
rescues were made in nearby Weslaco, which was inundated with about
14 inches (36 centimeters) of rain, according to Mayor Adrian
Gonzalez.
“It’s a historic rainstorm, and it’s affecting all the Valley, not
just Weslaco,” Gonzalez said.
Thousands of power outages were reported, and more than 20 school
districts and college campuses canceled classes. Valley
International Airport in Harlingen was closed Friday, and all
flights were canceled.
Between 7 and 12 inches of rain (20 and 31 centimeters) fell in
parts of northeastern Mexico, according to Tamaulipas authorities.
Luis Gerardo González de la Fuente, state coordinator of
emergencies, said the most affected city was Reynosa but conditions
were also dangerous in the border cities of Rio Bravo, Miguel Aleman
and part of Matamoros, south of Brownsville, Texas.
Some 640 military personnel were deployed in the area. Authorities
said electricity was being restored as water levels dropped but did
not clarify how many people were still without this service.
In Texas, Emma Alaniz was resigned to not being able to leave her
home in a colonia, which is an unincorporated neighborhood usually
located in a rural area of a county with underdeveloped
infrastructure. She described her home as being on “an island.”
“For today, I won’t be able to go anywhere, because I don’t have a
big vehicle," she said. "I have a small car, and I won’t be able to
take it out to the flooded street."
___
Lozano reported from Houston. Associated Press writer Alfredo Peña
in Ciudad Victoria, Mexico, contributed.
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