Kimberly Chacon Cardenas

KIMBERLY CHACON-CARDENAS & ROCIO VILLALOBOS

After the June floods that left many families from Hidalgo and Cameron counties in devastation, President Trump authorized the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide aid to affected residents. The President’s declaration arrived July 6, nearly two weeks after Governor Abbott issued a State Disaster Declaration for six Texas counties affected by the floods.

The voices of U.S. Reps. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen and Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, alerting residents via airwaves of the Sep.8 deadline to apply for FEMA assistance lent further belief to the idea that the local, state and federal systems are hard at work to help the Rio Grande Valley recover from the disaster.

However, many have voiced the opinion that bureaucracy’s response to the flooding has been largely underwhelming.

“You hear all this talk of help, statements from politicians and all, but I haven’t seen anything being done these last couple of months.” said John Rodriguez, a resident of Meadow Ridge in Mission, Texas.

This sentiment resonates with many whose fate, in the wake of a natural disaster, is determined by authorities. For a disaster of the magnitude such as the flooding in June, a coordinated federal, state and local response is never quick, or sufficient, enough.

Meadow Ridge neighborhood is a microcosm of grievances brought, not only those that lost so much in the Rio Grande Valley, but by all who have become victims to Mother Nature’s rage.

Disaster, if not properly managed, raises distrust of one’s government.

The June flood was referred to by The National Weather Service as, “The Great June Flood,” and was openly questioned as to whether it was worse than 2008’s Hurricane Dolly.

According to estimates by the National Weather Service, rainfall totals collected after the weather system passed measured 6-inches in the McAllen area, 11-inches near Weslaco, and almost 15-inches in Harlingen. Preliminary estimates suggested that the RGV sustained $100-million in damages.

The summer’s disaster was what experts call a, “hundred-year flood.” A hundred-year flood presents a unique set of logistical challenges and its rarity means that many victims of the flood likely never anticipated a need for flood insurance.

Many neighborhoods, forced to turn to government help, were left disappointed and upset. The effects of flash floods are felt long after the rain stops and the water recedes.

David Garza, another resident of Meadow Ridge, had to trudge through knee-high water for several days to exit his neighborhood. When the water finally receded from his neighborhood, the devastation was revealed.

For Garza, this was made clear when several weeks after the flood, he witnessed furniture and belongings strewn across neighbors’ lawns, serving as further evidence of “The Flood.”

“I’ve lost a lot of pictures, some collectibles I had, and practically anything that touched the ground” said Garza, “Nothing will ever be the same. I can’t get those back.”

For the residents of Meadow Ridge, the financial assistance from FEMA was insufficient. John Rodriguez said he received $1500.

FEMA assistance is designed to help residents “meet minimum basic disaster-related needs,” according to a statement by the organization. The assistance is not designed to restore all that was lost by natural disaster victims, but to help facilitate the process of recovery.  

For many residents, however, the financial assistance is far from comforting.

“My home was destroyed — washed away — and $1500 is supposed to make it better?”  said Garza. “That’s all my 20-plus years of paying taxes has to offer me.”

Garza sums up the sense of abandonment most residents of Meadow Ridge feel.

“We can’t rely on the city,” he says, “we should have known better.”

Damaged carpets, mold, and structural damage have left many overwhelmed. Many fear health risks, but lack enough money for major repairs. In some sense, they are gambling with their lives because the money is simply not there. 

Mosquitoes have also become a constant bother, but are on the lower end of priorities for those forced to cope with an absence of walls and flooring.The floodwater may have receded, but its damage can linger for months.

“The bottom floor of our house is carpet-less,” said John Rodriguez. “We had to remove it immediately after the flood.”

The cold, barren, concrete that has taken its place has become somewhat symbolic of how dreadful Rodriguez’ life has become.

“It’s insane. We have no floor, the house is a total mess, and my wife and I can’t even have friends over anymore,” said Rodriguez.

With the City of Mission still collecting information on the damage done by the floodwater, the neighborhood found comfort from their struggles in one another.

“The neighborhood pulled together,” said Garza. “The small things mean a lot.”

He noted how many of his neighbors offered their privately rented bins for his trash. For Brenda Garza, David’s wife, small acts of kindness meant the world. One of her neighbors loaned her washer for her clothes after Brenda’s was irreparably damaged.

“It really was kind of like a scene out of a movie,” said Brenda.

She described life pre-flood as nice, but said neighbors “kept to themselves.” Since the event, neighbors have gotten to know each other more, said Brenda.

As the residents embark on the long road toward recovery, something still seems to loom in the back of their minds. Turned off by the severe weather she believes has become all too common in the Valley, Brenda said she and her husband have discussed moving.

“Our house was damaged by the hail storm just a few years back” she said. “I think it’s global warming. No one wants to say it.”

Brenda may be on to something. Observers have noted that severe hundred-year floods are becoming more common both nationally and globally. Moreover, severe weather systems are linked to changing climate.

Trends recorded by the National Weather Service suggest that these types of floods are happening more frequently, which could spell consistent danger for residents of Meadow Ridge.

For Brenda and other residents of the neighborhood, it may not be long before they are forced to deal with another natural disaster.

As residents across the Rio Grande Valley are forced to reckon with the “Great June Flood,” the people of Meadow Ridge provide a glimpse into the world of natural disaster survivors, demonstrating human resilience in the face of great trauma.