A powerful storm system that submerged San Diego in floodwaters was making its way out of San Diego County on Tuesday, allowing the sun to shine on the damage left behind.
Residents were returning to find their homes drenched in floodwaters, cars were found stacked on top of each other after being swept away by rushing water, and transportation services were stunted by crumbling roadways. Several feet of water inundated the Mountain View, Shelltown and Southcrest neighborhoods, and multiple highways including Interstate 15.
"I’m heartbroken by the losses I saw this morning," Gloria said. "This is very real. What we have is a large number of San Diegans that are going to be in recovery mode – not hours or days, but measured in weeks or months."
Over a three-hour period, a whopping 3 inches of rain fell at nearby National City, while 2 inches fell at San Diego International Airport, according to the National Weather Service. During the winter, the region typically averages around 2 inches of rain per month.
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San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria declared a state of emergency and the city set up shelters to house displaced residents, as did the city of Coronado and the county of San Diego.
The heaviest hit
Some of the worst flooding in the county has occurred in southeast San Diego, including in the communities of Encanto, Mountain View and Lincoln Park. The Red Cross announced it would be opening an overnight shelter at Lincoln High School.
Representatives from the Mayor's office were in Southcrest to discuss the damage with residents, particularly on Southcrest's Beta Street. Cars were stacked on top of each other or in areas they shouldn't be after being swept away by floodwaters. The entire roadway was covered in thick mud Tuesday morning. The flash flooding was likely at about 7 feet at its peak.
"It was scary because we thought the water was electrocuted at times. The stoves were like ignited because they were so full of mud," Sadaq Hashi said.
Hashi was helping his neighbor Harold clean up Tuesday morning. The water came up to about shoulder level inside the home, and some neighbors crawled onto their rooftops to escape the flooding, he said.
San Diego chief operating officer Chris McFadden said the city has secured $700 million in federal funding for stormwater improvements. Plans are in place for much of the funding to go to the hard-hit Beta Street in Southpark and their Southcrest Park.
Photos show damage left behind by record-setting January storm
Hundreds rescued
The city of San Diego said rescue crews pulled hundreds of people from their flooded homes and streets, and at least half of those were in Southcrest alone, San Diego fire chief Colin Stowell said. The amount of emergency calls made during the storm was double a typical Monday.
Several more were pulled from the flooded San Diego River and Tijuana River Valley.
With that many calls, the fact that there were very few injuries and no fatalities was "simply remarkable," the fire chief said.
Many of the city's 15 stormwater pump stations reached capacity during the rain event and flooding caused power outages at two stations, one in the Sports Arena/Midway district, the city of San Diego said. Both were expected to be online by the end of the day Tuesday.
Why San Diego flooded
The cause was heavy rainfall combined with an "aging stormwater system with limited capacity," according to the city's Stormwater Department.
County sheriff's deputies also pulled people to safety after water rushed into homes in the Spring Valley and Casa de Oro neighborhoods, said San Diego County Sheriff’s Lt. Zee Sanchez. Other residents escaped by wading through waist-high water carrying their cats and dogs. No injuries were reported.
