COTULLA, Texas – Gov. Greg Abbott toured La Salle County by helicopter after flooding washed out roads and damaged homes, including in the Cotulla area, where some families were blocked from returning home.
Abbott said the damage was widespread after seeing flooded roads, including Dobie Road, from the air. He said the hardest-hit area he saw was around Cotulla, where floodwater covered large stretches near the Nueces River.
“The area that I saw that had the most water was here in the greater Cotulla area,” Abbott said. “Once you’re over the Nueces, that water is everywhere.”
Reychel and Magda Narvais came to the Red Cross center in downtown Cotulla after floodwater rose near their home off Dobie Road. They said they were not home when the water approached their doorstep, and later were unable to get back because the road was flooded.
Magda Narvais said she had seen flooding near their home before, but never this severe in the 20 years she’s lived there.
“It’s always the road back behind our house, but not to that level,” she said.
Reychel Narvais said seeing water inside a neighbor’s home was difficult, explaining 2 feet of water entered homes around them.
The family said the flooding was especially difficult because Magda Narvais is fighting stage 4 cancer.
“We’ve lost many other things,” Magda Narvais said.
Reychel Narvais said the experience put their losses in perspective.
“When we saw all that water going, I thought, ‘We’re going to lose our house,’” she said. “But my dad said, ‘It’s all replaceable. We have so many people that can help us.’”
As the two women came to gather supplies to help clean their home and help their neighbors, they said they were glad the community stuck together.
“At the end of the day, everyone comes and helps whoever needs it,” Magda Narvais said.
Abbott thanked first responders, local officials and other agencies for warning residents and helping the community prepare. The Narvais family said many in the community warned them of flooding days in advance.
“La Salle County and their leadership, they are a model of how to prepare for an event like this,” Abbott said. “They were knocking on doors 10 days in advance.”
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