Officials dispel rumors in Dolly's aftermath

EDINBURG — The flooding left in the wake of Hurricane Dolly has crested and should subside over the coming days, officials said Thursday evening.

Barring unforeseen rain, officials expect the flood levels to gradually drop as hundreds of families struggle to rebuild homes marooned by the storms torrential rains, officials announced in a Thursday night press conference.

"It put a tremendous strain on our drainage system," Hidalgo County Judge J.D. Salinas said. "The rumors about ditches breaking is not true. The water is localized flooding."

While residents waded through putrid flood waters to salvage anything the flood left untouched, officials said the flooding could have been much worse. Their biggest fear, that the Valley's ailing levee system could fail, did not materialize.

Thursday night, officials called the press conference to dispel rumors that have circulated in the storm's aftermath.

"We had a local media outlet that said there was a mandatory evacuation in Monte Alto," Salinas said. "It's created a lot of more work for us and our staff ... What happened is they said the mayor of Monte Alto declared it; well there isn't a mayor of Monte Alto."

County officials said there was never a mandatory evacuation order in Hidalgo County and residents of areas deluged by floods were offered assistance with getting to a shelter, but many, including most residents in the rain-soaked town of Monte Alto, declined.

The flooding was caused by surface water, collected during the hurricane.

Hidalgo County Emergency Management Coordinator Tony Peña stressed that residents should only believe an evacuation order if it clearly is from county officials.

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Sean Gaffney covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.