The Rio Grande River Floods the National Butterfly Center

Jeffrey Glassberg Jeffrey The Rio Grande River Floods the National Butterfly Center by Pat Wogan 24 American Butterflies,Fall 2010 25 Left: An interpretive kiosk on the south side of the National Butterfly Center, just south of the levy, was destroyed by the Above left: The storm track of flooding. July 19, Hurricane Alex. Color shows 2010. storm intensity with blue indicating a tropical depression, cream a category 1 hurricane and yellow a Jeffrey Glassberg Jeffrey category 2 hurricane. Above right: A satellite photo of Left: Volunteers Hurricane Alex as it made landfall. constructing the same interpretive Right: A map of the Rio Grande kiosk in 2009. Watershed in extreme southern One can estimate Texas and northeastern Mexico. the depth of the flooding water Overleaf: A view of the southern at this point by portion of the National Butterfly comparing the two Center on July 19, 2010. photos. It looks to be about five and one-half feet. In late June, 2010, Tropical Depression Although the hurricane’s high winds Alex formed in the Atlantic. Moving into and heavy rainfall led to immediate damage, the Gulf of Mexico, Alex moved rapidly including flooding on South Padre Island, it toward northeastern Mexico and became was the later effects of the hurricane’s rainfall Hurricane Alex on June 30. Intensifying as that caused more serious problems in south it approached land, the storm made landfall Texas. rise. Then came Alex. On July 15, 2010, Within a few days, it became clear that the near Soto la Marina in the state of Tamaulipas, The Rio Grande River Watershed, the life water levels at Falcon Reservoir, about 50 capacity of the floodway was less than was Mexico with sustained winds of more than 100 blood of extreme south Texas, drains only miles northwest of the National Butterfly needed. Unless a new tact was taken, water miles per hour. a thin sliver of land here, but drains a much Center, reached a new record level. Faced would overflow the bridges and also flood Rainfall in McAllen, Texas, about 6 miles larger area in northern Mexico. The torrential with possible structural damage to the dam expressway 83, the major East-West route in from the National Butterfly Center, amounted rains over the watershed area led to huge and massive flooding, the International the Lower Rio Grande Valley. to almost 7 inches on June 30, 2010. Over the amounts of water flowing into the Rio Grande. Boundary and Water Commission was forced Thus the International Boundary and course of the next week, 6 to 12 inches of rain Years of severe droughts had lowered to release significant amounts of water from Water Commission decided to close the dam fell throughout the Lower Rio Grande Valley, water levels in reservoirs along the Rio the reservoir. These waters flowed into a at Anzalduas (about 3.5 miles southeast of the with even greater rainfall in nearby northern Grande, but recently rains had become more floodway near Mercedes (about 30 miles National Butterfly Center) and release water Mexico. frequent and the reservoirs had begun to southeast of the National Butterfly Center). from the Amistad and Falcon Reservoirs. 26 American Butterflies,Fall 2010 27.

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