PHARR, Texas (Border Report) — About 60 Rio Grande Valley residents showed up Tuesday for the first of five town hall meetings held by La Union del Pueblo Entero (LUPE) to help those who have been affected by recent historic flooding on the South Texas border.

Representatives from the nonprofits Red Cross and ARISE Adelante also were on hand to help locals who have questions, or need help filling out disaster application forms.

They were urged to take photos and document damages. And they explained how residents qualify for federal funds if water inside homes exceeded 18 inches, or breeched electrical outlets.

They also learned how to expedite disaster claims.

Some residents complained about recurring drainage issues, especially in the colonias, or unincorporated housing developments, which flooded after up to 21 inches of rain hit this border region overnight on March 27.

“We’re here because we have encountered a lot of community members being unable to fill out the forms, maybe they don’t have Internet in their homes, maybe they’re just not familiar how to use smartphones or maybe they don’t have a computer in their home or simply they just have questions and they don’t know how to answer the questions that the form is asking so we want to make sure they receive the support that they need,” LUPE Executive Director Tania Chavez Camacho told Border Report.

She encouraged local residents to get active civically and to attend city council and county commissioner court meetings and to push local officials to continue to improve drainage infrastructure in the region, especially in the impoverished communities.

Since 2018, Hidalgo County has approved two bonds for drainage improvements totaling $385 million, which Chavez Camacho says helped to reduce flooding during this past historic weather event.

But she says more can be done.

“This is not something that is going to change overnight. This is not something that we can be mad at elected officials. It’s something that we need to work with elected officials and we need to sit down and map out when your colonia floods and then be able to work with them to ensure that the appropriate funding comes to our region to ensure that this does not happen again,” she said.

The region has suffered from drought over the past year, but the rains have now added another level of trauma — drowning dried and dead fields, overtaking roadways and causing at least two deaths.

LUPE has raised over $65,000 to help residents affected by the flooding through their “Dando La Mano” funds, officials said Tuesday. Qualifying residents can receive gift cards up to $200 to help with groceries and other short-term needs. Applications can be made at lupenet.org/apply.

Additional upcoming LUPE town hall flood meetings include:

• April 10 in San Benito at the San Benito Cultural Center, 225 E. Stenger Str., from 6-7:30 p.m.
• April 12 in Edinburg at Abundant Grace Church, 2110 S. McColl Rd., from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• April 15 in Weslaco at the UTRGV Center for Innovation and Commercialization, 307 E. Railroad St., from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
• April 17 in Mission, location to be determined.

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.