At least 4 dead after nearly two feet of flooding rain deluges South Texas

Hundreds of water rescues were reported as nearly two feet of rain flooded parts of South Texas.

Heavy rain inundated southern Texas Wednesday night through Friday morning, flooding roads and homes and prompting hundreds of water rescues.

At least four deaths were reported after over a half year’s worth of rain forced water rescues along the Texas-Mexico border where hundreds were trapped in flooded homes and cars stranded in high waters. Three of the deaths occurred in hard-hit Hidalgo County where a declaration of local disaster was issued to help cleanup operations. Carlos Sanchez.

A man drowned in Reynosa, Mexico, the Associated Press reported, citing authorities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas where nearly 700 people were rescued amid flooding, according to Mexico’s Civil Protection Coordination.

More than 21 inches of rain had been measured a few miles west of Harlingen, Texas. Harlingen typically gets about 24 inches of rain in an entire year.

In McAllen, Texas, a hospital's first floor was flooded forcing staff to divert walk-in and ambulance patients to nearby hospitals and pause visitation hours, it said in a Thursday evening update on Instagram. The hospital was reopening to visitors on Friday, though some parts of the first floor could be “restricted” because of the damage.

Over 50 water rescues were performed in surrounding Hidalgo County, CNN reported. Video on social media from that county showed portions of Interstate 2 underwater with abandoned vehicles and even a fire truck underwater.

In the past 48 hours through Friday morning, at least five AccuWeather AmbientWeather rain gauges in the area reported more than 18 inches of rain: Rio Hondo, Harlingen, Santa Rosa, Stuart Place and Tierra Bonita; the last one reported 19.38 inches. The Harlingen airport measured 14.11 inches, while Port Isabel recorded 13.17 inches.

"Severe flooding has impacted the RGV (Rio Grand Valley) leaving many homes and properties damaged," Cameron County Constable PCT 5 wrote on Facebook. "City and county workers, along with law enforcement, are working tirelessly to assist those in need. This photo captures just how extreme the situation is—residents navigating floodwaters by boat as streets remain submerged. Stay safe, and please avoid flooded areas if possible."

The Texas’ agriculture commissioner said the damage included significant losses to agriculture and livestock. Dozens of school districts and college campuses canceled classes and thousands of power outages were reported.

“The bed is the only thing dry right now, because the sofas are soaked. Everything is soaked,” Jionni Ochoa told the Associated Press from his home in Palm Valley, near Harlingen where he was waiting with his wife to be rescued Friday as the water inside reached their knees.

Two flash flood warnings were in effect early Friday, one for eastern Cameron County and another for west-central Cameron County. Both warned of life-threatening flooding.

River flooding will continue through early next week. The Rio Grande River near San Benito is the only National Weather Service flood gauge in Cameron County that provides a river level forecast. That gauge was at 40.37 feet Friday morning and was forecast to rise to 48.6 feet Saturday and 51.4 feet by Tuesday.

Fortunately, the heavy rain is over, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines says.

"There can still be a downpour this morning, but these will be few and far between. Dry weather is expected this weekend into the first half of next week, with temperatures above normal," he added.

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