CRYSTAL CITY, Texas – Two weeks after floodwaters from Espantosa Creek tore through parts of Crystal City, the water has receded. But inside one family’s home, the damage tells the story of what was left behind.
KSAT visited the family on Thursday and walked through the home with Mario Hernandez and his niece, Vanessa Vargas.
A muddy waterline stretched across the walls of nearly every room was a bleak reminder of what happened. Mold covered portions of the home, furniture had been displaced and belongings that had filled the house for decades were either damaged beyond repair or gone altogether.
“The water, see the levels here on the wall, they’re dropping,” Vargas said, pointing to the waterline still visible inside the home.
For Hernandez, this wasn’t just another house damaged in the flood. It was the home where he grew up. The home where generations of his family gathered for holidays, birthdays and everyday moments that became lifelong memories.
“It came out of nowhere and the cops just started evacuating and taking us out,” Hernandez told KSAT.
He recalled Zavala County emergency officials going door to door as floodwaters quickly surrounded the neighborhood, urging people to evacuate.
Leaving wasn’t easy. Hernandez said walking away from the home he had known his entire life was one of the hardest decisions he has ever had to make.
The timing made it even more difficult.
The same week floodwaters swept into Crystal City, Hernandez was scheduled to undergo open-heart surgery after previously suffering a heart attack. His family said that procedure has since been postponed.
“He doesn’t want to do it now because of the situation,” Vargas said. “We can’t get him to leave, and he needs a place where he can heal after the surgery.”
Instead of preparing for surgery, Hernandez has spent the last two weeks trying to salvage what he can from the home.
As Hernandez and Vargas walked from room to room, they pointed out what each space used to be.
“This was the dining area, the living room, and this was supposed to be like storage. His washer was tilted over. I don’t even know where his refrigerator is,” Vargas said.
Mud now coats the floors, and mold has spread across the walls.
Vargas added the emotional toll has been just as difficult as the physical damage.
“He has lost everything, we lost everything,” she told KSAT.
When asked about his favorite childhood memory, Hernandez paused, then began smiling and speaking about a time when his mother, father and grandparents were alive in the home.
“Down there is my uncle’s house as well, so this was always the family house for Easter, Christmas,” Vargas added.
Those memories are part of what makes the family’s next decision so painful.
Although they hoped the home could be repaired, Vargas said the damage is simply too extensive.
“We want to keep it, we do. Especially for him, my mom and them because this is their home,” she said. “But there is no saving it no more. It has to be torn down. The walls are bad and it needs a lot of remodeling.”
For now, Hernandez is staying with a friend while the family figures out what comes next. They also hope the community can help him begin rebuilding his life after losing the place he called home for decades.
Vargas said her family is making sure Hernandez doesn’t face the recovery alone.
“We go out of our way for him because I don’t want him to feel like he’s alone,” she said.
While the floodwaters have disappeared, the marks they left behind remain etched into the walls of the Hernandez family home, and into the memories of the family now preparing to say goodbye to the place where generations of their story began.
Anyone who would like to help Hernandez and his family begin the next chapter can contact Vanessa Vargas or reach out on social media.
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