Channel 5 News Meteorologist Andrew Chung is taking a look back at Hurricane Beulah, which hit the Rio Grande Valley in September 1967, dumping 15 to 25 inches of rain across the region, with some areas reporting up to 30 inches.

Chung spoke with people who lived through the storm and shared the lessons they learned.

Robert Ault still remembers the night the storm hit.

"Most of it was at night, and the wind was really high, and it was really kind of terrifying for young people," Ault said.

He watched the storm tear through his neighborhood.

"We watched our neighbor's outbuildings absolutely just blow away; in fact, part of it came into our yard and blew down a couple of mesquite trees," Ault said. "And then the wind changed from the other direction and put the mesquite tree back up."

Robert's brother, David, rode out the storm with him. David said no one in the Valley died during Hurricane Beulah.

"The only deaths that occurred, occurred because of flooding upstate. So the Valley was pretty well prepared," David Ault said.

The flooding, however, caused serious problems. Audio from archival footage captured the moment a flood control structure in Mercedes failed.

David described what happened as residents tried to hold back the water.

"They had sandbagged the levee going through the canal, going through Harlingen, to try to stop the water from coming into town,” David said. “You'd be sitting there and you'd hear this whistling noise, and all of a sudden you'd see a manhole cover go 'pew!' up in the air, 'cause it didn't stop the water around from the drainage system. So it just popped up all over town and it still flooded the town."

David's wife, Cathy, said her family had planned to stay at her grandparents' house in Weslaco but left when her uncle grew concerned the house would not hold up.

They headed north on 281 toward Freer but turned back after calling Cathy's aunt, who said the storm had passed and things were calm.

"She'd never been through a hurricane before, and it was the eye of the storm. That's why it was calm," Cathy Ault said.

The family got caught in the back end of the hurricane's eyewall on the drive back.

"We happened to look over the seat at my uncle driving, and his foot was not on the gas pedal, and we're going really fast along there. So the wind was helping push us along 281," Cathy said.

They rode out the rest of the storm in Edinburg before returning to Weslaco, where they found the house mostly intact with only one shingle blown off.

Looking back, Cathy said it would have been better to stay put in Weslaco from the start.

Chung said the decision to evacuate before a hurricane depends on several factors, including how strong the storm is, how far inland a person lives, the threat of storm surge and how strong the house is.

Robert said he plans to stay put if another storm hits because his home is well built and does not flood.

"This house is well constructed. And I know that it doesn't flood. So I'm not too concerned about that. So I would want to stay and protect my property and just ride it out," Robert Ault said.

More than 60 years later, Robert's main message is simple: do not get complacent.

"If we haven't had a hurricane in a while, you're lucky. Because if you have to go through it, especially one that's severe like Beulah, you sure need to be prepared," Robert Ault said.

Watch the video above for the full story.