Los Fresnos area flooded by Dolly

LOS FRESNOS - Waves of collected rain water lapped against the sides of vehicles Thursday in some of the hardest hit areas in Cameron County in the aftermath of hurricane-central/">Hurricane Dolly.

The Category 2 hurricane stranded residents, fashioned lakes, wrecked havoc with utility services, uprooted trees, stripped shingles from roofs, and scattered plenty of debris.

Prized possessions, but not memories, also were loss to the first hurricane to strike the Rio Grande Valley this year.

Mary Stakes had just moved into a house about a week ago in Los Fresnos. The woman came from Kerrville and had placed her belongings in a shed behind the house.

Cherished collections passed down from one generation to another were still in the shed when Dolly struck Wednesday morning, leaving the shed folded onto itself and without a roof.

"I've got a lot of memories," said Stakes, peeking from the screen door of the small house that barely withstood the barrage of wind gusts from Dolly. "This too shall pass," she said quoting Bible scripture.

"Everybody lost something," Stakes said.

Some residents were also without water service.

On FM 803, which was had been closed to traffic since early Thursday morning, Jorge Lopez assessed damages as he stood in almost a foot of water that surrounded his house.

"It's going to happen to everybody. I'm used to it," Lopez said of the flooding.

Lopez, who works for the Olmito Water Supply Corp., estimated that from 10 to 12 inches of rain fell in his neighborhood. His home also was without power as of 1 p.m. Thursday.

The lack of power also affected the town's water supply, but the towns of Rancho Viejo and Los Fresnos assisted the neighboring community's water supply company so that service would not be interrupted.

Lopez has a backup generator and was not affected by the slight interruption in electric service.

Lopez was optimistic that Cameron County crews would soon arrive in the area to begin pumping the water out. County vehicles already had driven by several times.

"This is a routine for them," Lopez said.

On FM 511 and the surrounding area, Dolly downed palm trees, brought traffic lights to a halt, bent traffic signs and carved lakes on open land including a section next to Los Fresnos High School.

More than 24 hours after Dolly's visit, residents in rural Cameron County continued without power. And with many without gas service also, cooking was impossible.

Antonia Robateau, her daughter Bianca and Robateau three grandchildren stood by the door of their mobile home surrounded by water roughly a foot deep waited for her husband to return with prepared food to feed the children.

"It was higher than this. Now it's going down," Robateau said, whose home is not far from Palmer-Laakso Elementary School. "We have had no lights since yesterday. We have nothing."

The family stayed with a neighbor overnight. However, the neighbor's gas tank was loosened and could not be accessed, and Robateau said she didn't want to go to a shelter.

Because the inspection sticker on the family's vehicle had expired, she feared that they could get in trouble with the police if they drove it.

"I'm kind of stuck here. We're all in a bind," she said.

When the winds and rain came, "we just prayed. We prayed that it would pass," Robateau said. The family has lived in the trailer for 10 years and Robateau said the area had not flooded as much before."I think the worst is past.'

On FM 1847, Maria Monica Gonzalez was hard at work, pulling branches off her family's property that also sustained some damage.

"Tell Allstate (Insurance) where the hell are they?" Adan Gonzalez, Maria Monica's husband, said, frustrated that he had not been able to talk to an agent. He said he called one number, was directed to another, and could only leave a message on an answering machine.

The property also sustained heavy flooding and Adan said that county officials could help if only they cleared the ditches and drains of debris. "They want your vote and then what do they do."

Near the FM 1847 and FM 510 intersection known as Laureles, roofs lacked shingles, the bases of palm trees were under water and ice coolers floated empty in a ditch as waves of water from entirely flooded streets momentarily receded after striking the asphalt on the main roadway.

Daniel Benavidez, 19, Gustavo Sanchez, 15, and Eduardo Maldonado, 16, walked in thigh-high water on Calle Esquina, estimating that it would take from two to three weeks for the water to clear.

Behind them, Issac Ramirez, 27, paddled Rosa Botello 25, in a canoe to the main road.

"Apenas lo estoy estrenando," he said, noting that he was breaking-in the canoe. Ramirez was using the canoe to also transport meat from houses without power so that it wouldn't spoil.