A person was driving through high waters in Val Verde County on Monday when they were swept away by floodwaters, the governer said at a news conference Friday in Cotulla.
The high waters on Friday were moving south along the Nueces River into areas like Cotulla, about 90 miles southwest of San Antonio.
Abbott flew over that region in a helicopter Friday to assess the damage. He told reporters the Cotulla area had the most water of all the regions he’d flown over during the July floods.
“That water is everywhere,” Abbott said. “And it seems like it just continues to persist. We saw destructions to homes. We saw destructions to infrastructure.”
In Cotulla, the Nueces River peaked at just over 29 feet, Abbott said. Its level had dropped to 25 feet Friday. At least 48 homes in Cotulla were damaged, Abbott said, including six with major damage.
The Nueces’ surge also damaged homes and infrastructure in Dimmit County, west of Cotulla. There, at least 16 homes were destroyed and $1.4 million worth of public roads and water facilities were damaged.
East of Cotulla, in McMullen County, one home was reported to have minor damage, along with damage to streets and other public infrastructure.
Abbott encouraged homeowners to report any flood damage to their homes online.
“Our ability to work with you and assist you hinges, in part, on the information we get on whether or not your property has been damaged,” he said.