SAN DIEGO — Many people who live in Mountain View, one of the communities hit hardest by flooding two weeks ago, are still staying in hotels or with family and friends. With rain hitting the county again, they're worried about more flooding and damage to their homes.
When the mix of mud and water poured into dozens of homes last month, the people living along the flood channel knew exactly why it happened.
“I'm really angry,” said Naomi Phillips-Terry. “I'm upset about it.” Naomi lives on 42nd street and has been begging the city for years to clean the channel out.
With all the trees, tall grasses, and trash, she knew it was only a matter of time before heavy rains would trigger the devastation that happened.
Naomi's garage door was no match for the raging river that came through there, sending water into her home and forcing her to move into a hotel. She has no idea when she can move back home. “There's still damage inside,” she said. “I haven't gotten a chance to do anything because we had to leave.”
Adding to Naomi's frustration, San Diego City crews came out after the flooding and cleared the entire channel in two days. If they had done that two weeks ago, Naomi believes her neighborhood would not have suffered so much damage.
Neighbors are hopeful the City’s work will prevent more problems, but just in case there is more flooding, neighbors lined up at the Mountain View Community Center Monday for free sandbags. “It's really been bad,” said Shamine Linton.
The CEO of Sharia’s Closet says five offices at her business flooded. The non-profit provides emergency clothing to those facing hardships.
Right now, her help is greatly needed, so she's picking up sandbags to make sure her doors can stay open for her neighbors in need. “Those that are really unhoused right now or displaced from their home - this is the time to show up,” she said. “So I'm really preparing and not making excuses to serve.”
42nd street was one of the hardest hit areas two weeks ago, today nearly every home has sandbags. Now that the channel has finally been cleared, the people who live on this street are hoping for the best, but still preparing for the worst.
Tuesday morning, neighbor Stacy Crawford watched as more rain came down. She said every time she hears running water, she feels anxiety.
"You don't know what's going to happen because [the flooding] happened so fast, it literally happened in the course of twenty minutes. No water to water, so that's why I'm scared because it can happen so quickly," said Crawford.
CBS 8 first met Crawford as she was searching in the floodwaters for one of her electric vehicles. The storm had carried it to a neighbor's home down the street. She said both of her vehicles have since been replaced. Their dog, Megan, was rescued in the floodwaters.
She and her husband are staying at a hotel using a voucher provided by San Diego Unified.
A fundraising account was set up to help get them back on their feet.
WATCH RELATED: Shelltown and Southcrest families concerned with city response to aftermath of flood