Uvalde is recovering after flooding cut it off from the rest of Texas. But Miguel Vasquez wasn’t going to let flooded roads get in the way of him reaching his dogs, Russell and Mamacita.
“As I’m walking where the playground is at, it was already ankle deep,” Vasquez said.
He was at work when the river right behind his home on Barry Street began to rise, flooding his neighborhood and reaching all the way out to Morales Junior High School a few streets away. Vasquez trudged through the water, almost getting sucked into the river, before he got to his dogs at home and climbed onto a picnic table in his yard.
“So I said if it gets any worse, we will get on the roof,” Vasquez said.
But the water receded, and he made it out safe. Still, roads like East Mesquite remain flooded, with cars in it, and residents are dealing with the damage.
“Everything is destroyed — my bed, my furniture, everything,” Vasquez said.
But help is on the way, with the Texas Department of Emergency Management setting up a resource center at the civic center, signing up and coordinating volunteers. Some volunteers are helping bring piles of trash from the flooding to dump sites.
Permanent repairs have been made to Highway 90 leading to Uvalde, with the westbound lane open. Still, the bridge on FM 481 over the Nueces River remains broken.
City officials asked residents to send them pictures of property damage caused by floodwaters so they can work with state and federal agencies to find out what resources they need to help with the recovery process. Beginning Monday, the municipal landfill will be open Monday through Friday for those trying to get rid of flood debris.