Sandbags sit out on the front porch outside Yvette Ramirez's McAllen home. The sandbags were picked up ahead of the rain brought by Tropical Storm Alberto.

Ramirez said she wanted the sandbags no matter how small the storm was, after her home flooded in the June 2018 storms.

Ramirez’s neighborhood was flooded, and local and state officials want to prevent that from happening again.

The Texas Water Development Board adopted its first-ever statewide flood plan, a five-year-plan that divides the state into 15 regions, combining the needs for flood prevention of cities and counties across the state.

Cameron County Precinct 3 Commissioner David Garza is leading Region 15, which includes the Rio Grande Valley.

“We're trying to be more proactive and in trying to help our people have less losses,” Garza said.

The plan helps organize flood planning and funding. Hidalgo County Drainage District #1 also gave input for the flood plan.

The projects are ranked for priority by the state to receive the funding. Although it's been adopted, amendments are still being added before the plan is finalized and delivered to lawmakers this fall.

Garza says it has already helped our region.

“In the first cycle awarded to the flood infrastructure planning group that we have in region 15, we were awarded 32 projects, and we were allocated about $112 million,” Garza said.

For residents like Ramirez — who describes past floods as “traumatizing” — the first ever flood plan is extra protection for her home.

Watch the video above for the full story.