A Harlingen antique shop owner is still recovering from the March 2025 floods that damaged his business and cost him thousands of dollars.

Marty Rook and his wife own Funky Fox Antique Mall in downtown Harlingen. Two inches of water came inside the store on March 27, 2025.

"It was too much. It just kept coming in. All we could do was sit and watch it," Rook said.

The water damaged antique furniture, rugs, and other goods sold at the store. Rook threw away many items, costing him thousands of dollars.

He was forced to close the store for a week while he cleaned up. Rook spent several nights at the store because he couldn't get to his house in San Benito.

"I was thinking, ‘what if this floods again?' And it will," Rook said.

Rook received $3,000 from the Harlingen Economic Development Corporation. He used the money for repairs and buying new items.

The EDC set up the Harlingen Strong Grant Program to help businesses affected by the flooding. The program prioritized businesses without flood insurance.

"A lot of businesses did not have insurance. They never thought that they would need it, so unfortunately many of them didn't have anywhere else to turn," EDC CEO Orlando Campos said.

Rook still spent his own money to recover from the damages.

"We have taken steps. We removed a lot of the rugs and anything  [at the] front," Rook said.

The EDC says 119 businesses applied for the program. Twelve businesses that didn't meet requirements were denied.

The EDC distributed more than $311,000 through the program.

Watch the video above for the full story.