LAREDO, TX – As flood waters rise, hundreds of border buoys are now moving quickly down the Rio Grande creating a new public safety threat for Texas-Mexico border communities, and critical international trade bridges on the river.
On Friday morning, federal and local officials assured the public that only buoys being stored on the riverbank had been swept away by floodwaters. However, it is now clear that a fully installed chains of buoys have become dislodged, carrying with them thick metal chains, concrete blocks, and razor-sharp saw discs.
This rapidly moving chain of buoys – installed just a year ago by the State of Texas near Eagle Pass – are now heading toward the residential communities of Laredo, Nuevo Laredo, Rio Bravo, El Cenizo, San Ygnacio, and Zapata.
The danger is a potential wraparound of bridge piers of international bridges that are now in the path of this dislodged chainstring: Colombia, World Trade, Gateway to the Americas (bridge I), Juarez-Lincoln (bridge II), and the newly expanded railroad bridge.
This failure of fully installed buoys reveals that the engineering and design for the project is fundamentally flawed and that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not taken into account normal, expected flood events along the Rio Grande.
“This shows the project is fundamentally unsafe, and not fixable,” said Martin Castro, watershed science director at the Rio Grande International Study Center. “It failed a minimum stress test, as these are not even close to the biggest floods we can expect. Even if we get lucky this time around and it doesn’t damage our bridges, it is now clear that the buoy design won’t withstand greater flooding. It needs to be halted – immediately – until full and complete studies are conducted. Anything less is irresponsible.”
The City Ignored Clear Warnings
Four months ago, the city was told that this exact scenario would unfold in an expert scientific report by fluvial geomorphologist, Dr. Mark Tompkins. The report included clear illustrations that are nearly identical to the real world scenes unfolding now.
See 1 page summary of Tompkins report + illustrations HERE.
See full Tompkins report HERE.
In March of 2026, Dr. Tompkins issued a risk assessment of the wall and buoy system, and warned of “inevitable systems failure” with this massive and untested infrastructure project by DHS.
“The city was warned, loud and clear, by experts, but the mayor and city manager dismissed these concerns in order to please the federal government,” said Laredo resident Nadja López. “They are picking politics over public safety. It’s inexcusable.”
López added: “This is like every disaster movie you’ve ever seen, where scientists tried to warn the public of a clear and present danger, but the politicians ignored them, right before the disaster struck. We are now living it in real time.”
Bringing the danger to our doorstep
The mayor and city manager are currently negotiating to allow the federal government to install these same flawed buoy systems
In Laredo itself.
“The current threat to Laredo is coming from buoys more than a hundred miles upstream. That’s how dangerous they are,” said Irma Morales López, a resident of the historic Laredo riverfront neighborhood San Francisco Javier. “However, the mayor wants to allow these buoys to be installed right along the city waterfront. It’s literally inviting the danger to our doorstep, where our bridges are, where our communities are. It is the opposite of public safety.”
This is just a prelude
The same expert report released in March that accurately predicted the current failure of the buoy systems, clearly states that the additional installation of a border wall would create an even more catastrophic situation. According to the report, a border wall would straightjacket the river, preventing normal dispersion into natural flood zones upstream, concentrating and elevating the level of floodwaters and increasing the force of floods into densely populated, urban areas. This risks a ‘Katrina level’ or ‘Camp Mystic’ disaster. The report likened this to a “ticking time bomb.”
“The level of incompetence by these federal contractors is being matched only by the complacency of our city officials,” said Laredoan Jesse G. Herrera. If they don’t take a stand to stop this now, it’s a gross dereliction of duty.”
On Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service listed normal flow conditions for the river at Laredo and a flood stage of 4.26 feet.
Forecast peak stage is set to hit 20 feet by Sunday afternoon, which is far short of peak floods that Laredo has experienced before. Flood levels reached 42.5 feet during the flood of 2010 and 61 feet during the flood of 1954.
These levels will be reached again and are far higher than the level that caused fully installed buoys to fail this Friday.
Previously fully installed buoy chain flowing freely down river near Eagle Pass
Additional Media Coverage:
- Laredo Morning Times: Laredo mayor declares disaster over flood threat as Rio Grande debris heads downstream
- Texas Public Radio: More than 100 federal border buoys break loose in flooded Rio Grande
- Spectrum News: Border buoys dislodge in Rio Grande, forcing international bridge closures
- Fox News SA: Hundreds of border buoys moving downstream after flooding near Eagle Pass
- San Antonio News: Over 100 border buoys break free in flooded Rio Grande
- KGNS: Laredo mayor issues emergency declaration as Rio Grande debris wave approaches
The #NoBorderWall Laredo Coalition is a network of residents, elected officials, & organizations who oppose the border wall. Website: facebook.com/NoBorderWallCoalition | Insta: @noborderwall_ltx
