Kimberly Mata-Rubio, mother of Lexi, who was killed in the 2022 Uvalde school shooting, faced the harrowing task of evacuating her home due to recent flooding, which forced her to leave some of her late daughter’s belongings behind.

Mata-Rubio described the experience in an Instagram video posted Wednesday, recounting how she received a mandatory evacuation order while at home. She managed to gather her children, dogs, and a bin filled with as many of Lexi’s items as possible before leaving.

The floodwaters in Uvalde and south Texas reached over 2 feet in some areas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated that Uvalde was severely impacted, with at least two confirmed fatalities from the flooding. The Nueces River, located approximately 200 miles from Uvalde, surged to 28 feet, surpassing its previous 1996 record of 25 feet. This event follows last year's devastating Central Texas floods that claimed at least 139 lives, many of whom were young girls at Camp Mystic.

Upon returning to her home two days after the evacuation, Mata-Rubio discovered that the flood had damaged some of Lexi’s furniture, including her bed and dresser. Among the affected items was a Mother’s Day handprint artwork made by Lexi. Mata-Rubio had placed this shirt in a bag, but it was accidentally discarded, and despite searching trash and dumpsters, she was unable to recover it.

"That’s a really hard loss for me," Mata-Rubio stated. The family's home sustained significant damage, requiring mold remediation for the drywall and removal of kitchen cabinets and one bathroom.

"Some of my neighbors lost absolutely everything," she said, adding, "It’s been a difficult week. But I was lucky to save a lot of her stuff. A lot of it was in bins or hanging, displayed."

Mata-Rubio emphasized her efforts to remain positive for her children, acknowledging the stress the situation has placed on them.

In 2023, Mata-Rubio and her family relocated from the home where Lexi had lived, moving across town. "I would have stayed in that house forever," she told ABC News. "I would have begged the owner to let me buy it eventually, but I knew it wasn’t good for everyone else."

Felix Rubio, Lexi’s father, recounted calling out for his daughter one last time as they moved out of their previous home, an emotional moment he described with tears.

Many parents of victims from the Uvalde school shooting have preserved their children's rooms as they were on the day they died. This practice has been highlighted in media, including the 2025 documentary "All The Empty Rooms" and a CBS News photography series featuring eight victims' bedrooms.