March Flood — One Year Later: Harlingen man recalls flood that trapped him in his home
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Harlingen is expanding a retention pond and upgrading drainage systems one year after the March 2025 flood left parts of the Rio Grande Valley underwater for days.
In neighborhoods like Hidden Hills, residents say water filled garages, destroyed cars, and left them trapped with no way out.
Sam Galea has lived in Hidden Hills for more than 20 years. During the flood, water filled his garage and damaged appliances.
"It ruined everything in this garage, my wife's dryer; everything was ruined," Galea said. "The biggest headache was we couldn't go anywhere. We couldn't get out.”
Galea said it took him weeks to clean up the mess left by the floodwaters.
He says the flood didn't create drainage problems in the area; it exposed them.
Harlingen City Engineer Roberto Hernandez says crews are expanding an existing 11-acre retention pond by adding nine more acres to handle future storms.
"This is going to be improving about 225 acres near the site and basically provide mitigation efforts so for the next storm event that happens, it's going to be able to mitigate flooding," Hernandez said.
Harlingen City Commissioner Daniel Lopez says improvements are happening across Harlingen, including widening ditches and replacing old pipes to handle more water.
"Those were some of our biggest impact projects that we have, [it's] massive for the west side of town," Lopez said.
Lopez says the upgrades are about more than fixing the past. They're about preparing for the future.
"We're really excited, but we can't be resting. We gotta keep moving. That's really been the priority of this city commission," Lopez said.
City leaders also say they've added a second drainage crew to allow them to work on multiple projects at once and move faster.
For Galea, the real test will come with the next big storm.
"But I'm not holding my breath, you know," Galea said.
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