𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗠 𝗠𝗔𝗬 𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗘𝗡𝗚𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗥 𝗗𝗢𝗥𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗢 𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗜𝗔, 𝗝𝗥.'𝗦 𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦

 

Past Brownsville Flooding

If this tropical storm doesn't miss us, it won't be the rain that impacts our town as much as the flooding.

When I came to B'ville in 1966 a couple months shy of age 18, my first flooding challenge came trying to navigate a heavily flooded Four Corners in my '59 VW bug.  

When the car's engine started to die, I instinctly engaged the clutch which somehow restarted the engine.  (It was later explained to me that the twin tail pipes of my car's engine had been submerged in water creating "back pressure" that was relieved when I engaged the clutch.  I used that technique during subsequent floods after gaining some initial momentum.)

That same year, 1966, I monitored closely development of Hurricane Inez, marking the coordinates on a hurricane map.  At the last instant, the hurricane quickly veered south, hitting Tampico.

My friend Tom Robinson and I were somewhat amused that Madam Palm's home on the S.P.I. highway had been completely boarded up in anticipation of Hurricane Inez that totally missed our area.  Does this mean she really could not predict the future?

Inquiring minds needed to know.

As we approached her home, we were met by one of her daughters who totally ignored our questions about her mom's skillset,  pretending to be totally "out of it."

The very next year, many Brownsvillians, fooled by Hurricane Inez, were not as prepared for Hurricane Beulah, a storm that actually did hit with severe force.

Anyway, I'm certain City Engineer Doroteo Garcia, Jr. has tweaked our infrastructure in some areas to make improvements.  If the RGV was really a valley as advertised, not a delta, Doroteo's job would be much easier.

Former City Commissioner Rick Longoria, Jr. once boasted that "anyone knows how to stop Four Corners from flooding.  Just give me the money and I'll fix it."

Former City Commissioner Rick Longoria, Jr.

Had Rick followed through on that promise, I would have recommended a designation of that intersection the Ricardo Longoria, Jr. Dry Four Corners Area.