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.
UPDATE 🇺🇲 | FLASH FLOOD HITS SOUTH TEXAS: THREE DEAD, OVER 200 RESCUED
Heavy rains battered the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, prompting rare flash flood emergency warnings. The region received a whopping 18 inches of rain in just 48 hours, nearly a year's worth of rainfall.… https://t.co/THhgdoWjTS pic.twitter.com/W2zjYQEmIW
— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) March 29, 2025
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.
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.
NEW VIDEO:
This was the scene RIGHT AFTER a confirmed EF-0 tornado tore through the Elsa/Edouch area of Southern Texas on Thursday.
The Southern Texas region also experienced numerous flash flood warnings as over a FOOT of rain fell on some communities.#TXwx pic.twitter.com/LBsJPtRO3V
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) March 29, 2025
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.
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.
