Texas flooding death toll rises to three as Abbott surveys damage

Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday confirmed a third flood-related death in Texas after a person trying to drive through floodwaters was swept away on Monday, as he surveyed damage in Cotulla and pressed for more counties to be added to the state’s major disaster declaration. The update came as heavy rain continued to leave some areas inaccessible and emergency crews worked through damaged structures and washed-out roads.

Abbott’s Cotulla stop included a damage survey, a briefing and press conference, and time helping serve meals to affected residents. The governor’s office said he was there to provide an update on the state response and to request additional counties for inclusion in the disaster declaration, reflecting how quickly the emergency had outgrown the first round of local response.

The flooding this month prompted more than 500 rescues, and local coverage put the damage to nearly 700 homes and businesses across three counties. Abbott had already issued a severe storm disaster proclamation in June and a disaster declaration on June 16 covering 101 Texas counties amid the storm threat. A July 17 state update listed 28 counties under a major disaster declaration, showing how broad the response had become before the death toll rose again on Friday.

The third fatality also sharpens the preventable-risk question now hanging over the disaster: whether warnings, road closures and emergency alerts reached people fast enough before floodwater turned a roadway into a trap. The victim was swept away while driving, a reminder that in Texas, fast-rising water can overtake drivers in minutes and isolate rural roads, low crossings and neighborhoods with little margin for error.

That is the broader test facing state and local officials as they move from rescue to recovery. High water remained in parts of Texas on Friday while crews kept working, and the widening list of damaged homes, businesses and inaccessible areas suggests the event is still being measured not just by the death toll, but by how much of the state’s flood response was enough for the scale of the threat.