UVALDE COUNTY, Texas – The waterline is still visible on the walls. Two-and-a-half feet high inside the house. Five feet high on the shed out back.
For Mike Gass, those marks tell the story of the worst week this Uvalde neighborhood has ever seen.
“I’ve lived here 69 years, and I’ve never ever seen that kind of water,” Gass said.
Gass owns a rental home on East Leona Street, which is just steps from the Leona River in downtown Uvalde.
Gass’ uncle built the house. His mother, who recently died at age 94, lived around the corner her entire life. In all those decades, water never once entered the home.
Gass said every home on his side of the street took on at least two-and-a-half feet of water without flood insurance.
“Most people can’t afford it,” Gass said. “Just try to rebuild and start over.”
Uvalde received between 15 and 25 inches of rain last week, according to KSAT’s Weather Authority team — an unprecedented amount for the area.
At least one person died after rushing floodwaters swept their car away. Rescue operations are still being tallied by the Uvalde Police Department. As of Tuesday morning, final numbers were not yet available.
As of Monday night, 21 people were still sheltering at the William R. Mitchell Uvalde County Fairplex.
Across the street from Gass, neighbor Roy Garcia watched the water rise from his doorstep.
It stopped within an inch or two of coming inside his home. He knows how close it was.
“God only knows. All I can say is, ‘We’re blessed,’” Garcia said. “They came by and offered us all kinds of stuff, and I said, ‘I appreciate it, but these people up here are the ones that need it.’”
Garcia said he has already seen contractors show up in the neighborhood. Not for pay, just to help. Local organizations have also begun setting up food and supply distribution points across the city.
H-E-B deployed its disaster relief team to Uvalde where they set up a drive-thru distribution where volunteers handed out free water, mops, buckets and cleaning supplies to residents. Dozens of cars lined up in the short time KSAT crews were in the city.
“The recovery efforts are going to be lasting for months,” said Juan Mejia, H-E-B’s top store leader in Uvalde. “I can tell you that the Uvalde community and H-E-B are going to be here for years to come to help each other out.”
The City of Uvalde has closed several streets due to flood damage, including the 300 block of East Mesquite, East Oak, East Leona, East Anglin and Studer Street near Morales Junior High School.
Residents are being asked to stack up damaged items on the curb for city pickup.
More recent July 2026 floods coverage on KSAT: