SAN DIEGO — San Diego residents and city officials on Tuesday cleaned up the aftermath of an "unprecedented" winter storm that caused severe flooding and prompted states of emergency from the city, county and state.
Several hours of rain Monday closed freeways and damaged houses and cars. The storm hit neighborhoods in southeast San Diego especially hard, impacting hundreds of families, Mayor Todd Gloria said in a Tuesday afternoon press conference.
“From what I saw, the damage and the impact was absolutely devastating,” Gloria said. “In fact, it was heartbreaking.”
Gloria associated the storm with climate change and told San Diegans to expect more weather systems like this to come. He said the last storm of this severity hit San Diego in the 1930s.
Rainfall hit record levels, making Monday the fourth wettest day on record for the City of San Diego, Chief Operating Officer Eric Dargan said.
Southcrest, Mountain View neighborhoods suffer extensive damage
Crews rescued over 100 people and over 30 animals in Southcrest alone, Stowell said.
In Mountain View, many houses suffered extensive damage. Water seeped into garages, struck down fences and swept away patio furniture.
A flood channel that would typically collect water overflowed, leaves and tree limbs blocked off storm drains and water moved down Ocean View Boulevard to I-805.
Rescue teams and neighbors took to kayaks to pull out residents and pets trapped in their houses. Fire crews Monday estimated some 200 people would need assistance.
The water receded and drains were cleared by about 2 p.m., leaving behind roads covered in mud and cars parked at odd angles.
A lot of people took off work Tuesday to clean up. Volunteers shoveled piles of mud.
Even as many residents were shocked by the intensity of the damage, others weren't surprised. Some families in Mountain View said they're frustrated with the city and felt like their years of complaints about flood channel concerns were ignored. Many people said they felt this could have been prevented.
One man told CBS 8 he had previously asked city officials to clean out the flood channel that overflowed Monday and pushed water into streets and houses.
“We said, ‘It’s going to flood, you guys better be prepared for it,'" he recalled.
Mountain View resident Mary Landavazo said she and her husband had four feet of water inside their home. They had already complained to the city for months, she said. They told city officials to clear the flood channel behind their house because they were afraid something like this would happen.
At one point, she said she was told the city couldn’t clear the channel because of the wildlife there.
“Why do we have to be the ones to suffer?” she said to Gloria.
Resident Judi Banks said she has reported countless complaints to the city about the flood channel, too.
"I feel this is discrimination," Banks said. "Southeast San Diego is so underserved."
She and her husband Robert said they filed a complaint when the area flooded in 2018.
"They had a chance to fix this, 2018 same thing happened we filed a claim with the city and they ignored it. They are not going to ignore this one. Gotcha," Robert Banks said.
Flooding threw furniture across mud-caked floors in Banks' home.
"This is a hot mess," Judi Banks said.
On Tuesday, representatives from the Mayor's Office walked down South 42nd Street, letting people know they could put their trash out Wednesday for special pick up services. Since many people lost their bins in the rain, they can leave bags of trash on the curb or street.
The streets scheduled for pick up are:
- Beta Street
- Cottonwood Street
- S. 42nd Street
- San Miguel Avenue
- San Pasqual Street
- Madera/Broadway
These are based on impact from calls. If the city gets more requests, more streets can be added.
Plans for storm drain improvements
Gloria said no drainage system would’ve been able to accommodate the “extraordinary” amount of rainfall San Diegans saw Monday.
“Our storm water system is not resourced correctly, and that’s a long-term thing we have to talk to the voters about,” Gloria said.
There are already plans in place to improve storm water and water quality in Southcrest, Deputy Chief Operating Officer Kris McFadden said.
The city has secured over $700 million in federal funding, McFadden said, a lot of which will be spent on “desperately needed” storm water improvements on Beta Street. City officials requested a $24 million grant from FEMA for additional improvements.
A storm like this has a 1% chance normally of happening, McFadden said.
“Don’t confuse 'unprecedented event' with the city not being prepared for it,” said Chris Heiser, executive director of the city's Office of Emergency Services.
Emergency response
Fire-Rescue Department Chief Colin Stowell said lifeguards rescued over 50 people from riverbeds, flood channels, the tops of cars and moving water on Monday. No injuries or fatalities were reported.
“For a storm this size, that is simply just remarkable,” Stowell said.
The fire department received almost 900 calls on Monday alone and responded to over 903 incidents throughout San Diego and neighboring cities, Stowell said.
City officials fielded more than 400 calls as of Monday night, with hundreds more coming in Tuesday.
WATCH RELATED: Mountain View homes on 42nd Street damaged by flooding