Weslaco prepares for flooding ahead of severe weather

WESLACO, Texas (ValleyCentral) — For a city prone to flooding like Weslaco, when a weather forecast calls for several inches of rain, residents and city leaders worry.

Charlie Casanova has lived in Weslaco for many years. He experienced the 2018 flood, so he is already stocked up with water and food in case this storm worsens.

“I think it is important because many fears are drainage and flooding. That has always been a concern for the last several years, so yeah it kind of scares you a little bit," Casanova said. "You don’t want to lose your home or relocate your family or anything like that.”

Casanova said he is also doing simple things like cutting his grass and removing objects that could break windows.

He said his uncle lost his home to the flood six years ago, as it often floods worse on the city's south side.

After removing the walls, they noticed the home could not be saved.

“The water came up, I think they had marked the walls up to six and seven inches into the home, and you had to cut all that wall off. Once you looked inside you saw that everything was soaked up and its moisture and the air kind of feeds it off," he added. "It caused a lot of issues and of course, the house was torn down the whole house.”

Casanova said he has seen city crews trying to clean canals and drainage systems in preparation for the storms.

Weslaco city workers were cleaning storm drains of debris. They were applying water pressure to make sure anything that was clogged could be washed away.

Weslaco Chief of Emergency Management Antonio Lopez said the city has been preparing this time around for what is to come.

“It doesn’t have to be a hurricane to not impact us," Lopez said. "So, we are doing everything to make sure that we are taking care of drainage projects in and around the city. We have some major drainage projects that have been completed over the past couple of years in the city, and some of them are currently being worked on."

Lopez said crews will continue removing trash and debris in hopes of preventing flooding.