At least 4 dead after severe storms in the South Texas-Mexico border region and hundreds rescued

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.

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.