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I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that an effective response is beyond the capability of the local jurisdiction to control.
Many residents of the Rio Grande Valley are still recovering from the vicious storm that rolled through the area late Friday evening, leaving over 150,000 people without power.
Almost immediately, local entities began working to help clean up debris and ensure the safety of residents.
On Monday afternoon, Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez issued a declaration of disaster and called on Gov. Greg Abbott to declare a state of emergency for Texas.
“I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that an effective response is beyond the capability of the local jurisdiction to control,” Cortez said to Abbott. “I am requesting that you declare a state of emergency for the state of Texas and issue appropriate directives to deal with the emergency.”
Residents of Hidalgo County received phone notifications to take shelter minutes before the severe weather came through the area Friday evening. Since then, clean-up crews have been working tirelessly to fix downed power lines and pick up debris.
While the threat of storms was expected, the magnitude of the winds caught residents off guard as it howled through Hidalgo County.
As of Monday afternoon, Military Highway remained temporarily closed between FM 1015 (International Boulevard) in Progreso and FM 2556 in Santa Maria due to downed power lines, according to a news release from the Texas Department of Transportation.
The release also stated that access north of Military Highway from FM 491 (Rio Rico Rd) to Mile 3 Road also remained temporarily closed.
By Monday morning, the National Weather Service in Brownsville had more information about the storm, which knocked out traffic signals, closed roads and scattered debris.
“In simple terms, we had like a little upper level disturbance that kind of rolled over our area of South Texas,” Meteorologist Brian Mejia said. “Essentially, it was just like a squall line, a low eco squall line that kind of pushed right through the heart of the Rio Grande Valley, you know, especially with the more populated areas of the Rio Grande Valley.”
Mejia said that the storm produced 70 to 85 mph winds from Roma through Central Cameron County. He said that it is not so uncommon to see severe weather such as Friday’s storm due to April and May being peak severe weather seasons for the Valley.
“We don’t see that every time, but this one particular time all the ingredients kind of came together for a strong wind event and also a hail event,” Mejia said.
Crews with electric companies have been out and about trying to restore power to Rio Grande Valley residents.
According to a news release, approximately 17,000 AEP Texas customers remained without power as of 9 a.m. Monday, including 10,000 in the Mission area, 3,200 in the McAllen area and 3,200 in the Pharr area.
Officials in local cities also began to assess the damage and pick up the mess.
“Here in McAllen, everything is pretty good,” McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos said. “We had our public works, we had everybody out there as soon as we could to start, of course, and making sure that the thoroughfares, the streets, everything was cleared up. Once that happens, then we start off with the rest of the stuff, the brush pick up.”
Villalobos estimated that the clean-up efforts would last to the end of the week.
“It was extensive damage all over the place,” Villalobos said. “What’s kind of weird was we saw a lot of damage on commercial buildings. The canopy fell off there on Lark and 23rd Street from the Exxon. The other canopy down the street on 23rd and Harvey came off. There were some roofs from apartments.
“It was amazing. I mean, the winds were way up there, and this was just a storm.”
Pharr Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez said that he happened to be driving through McAllen on his way home Friday evening when the storm rolled through.
“I couldn’t even see in front of me with the wind blowing and the tree branch going across my truck. It was pretty bad,” Hernandez said. “The rain was horizontal. It was so dense. I had to go like 5 miles an hour because the wind and the water blowing across, I couldn’t see in front of me.”
Despite his experience, Hernandez said that Pharr received “typical damage,” including trees and debris, as well as some minor drainage and electricity outages.
“Whether we have a little bit or not we mobilize our emergency management team immediately,” Hernandez said. “The very next day — actually at two in the morning — they were working already trying to remove big debris on the big major arteries. The city of Pharr employees, they were working since the morning that day.”
Mission Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza also praised her city’s crews who’ve been working since early Saturday morning. She said that she was unsure of the extent of the damage, but the city was working on that so that they could request federal aid.
“It’s very important that residents document all of their damages and everything that was spent in trying to get their places cleaned up and that kind of thing,” Garza said. “It’s very important to document everything that is spent by our schools or, of course, our city and our residents.”
She encouraged residents to call (956) 766-3407 for any questions regarding the storm damage and brush collection.
“We’re working double time and trying to get to everyone as quickly as we can,” Garza said. “I think the staff is doing a wonderful job. Of course, the main roads were the priority, and now we’re working on the interior streets. It’s just a team effort.”
Edinburg Mayor Ramiro Garza said that the city has made significant progress in their clean-up efforts, and is continuing to work to meet the community’s needs.
“This was such a severe weather event that impacted the whole area,” the Edinburg mayor said. “We did get some calls, and there’s still some calls coming in, just regarding uprooted trees or, you know, debris in alleys and things of that nature.
“Our other works crews basically caught up with the majority of the issues, and there was traffic signals that were damaged during the storm, but they have since been repaired as well as the streets.”
He urged citizens to call 311 should they need any additional assignment.
To see more, view Monitor photojournalist Joel Martinez’s full photo gallery here:
Photo Gallery: Hidalgo County declares storm a disaster while officials respond to widespread damage
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