A relatively dry winter season was upended by the wettest January on record, giving San Diego a slightly above normal season for the year.
People took to Tik Tok and Instagram to share videos of cars being dragged across streets that had turned to rivers, showing just how unprepared the city’s infrastructure is when it comes to heavy rain.
While San Diego is used to some rain, the city and people aren’t prepared for the level we saw on Monday. The storm, the third in a sequence of 3, created a mass and widespread flood that sent San Diego into a State of Emergency, declared by Mayor Todd Gloria.
The storm flooded roads and highways while the San Diego Fire Department deployed water rescue to areas with extreme flooding along the San Diego River, central parts of the city, and low-lying areas nea the coast.
In a statement, the city also listed a few resources for those impacted, with a list of opened shelters and where to pick up sandbags.
Shelters opened are the Red Cross overnight emergency shelter at Lincoln High School, 4777 Imperial Ave., and a temporary shelter at the Golden Hill Recreation Center, 2600 Golf Course Drive which was open until 9pm Monday night.
Although the showers have continued overnight, they have dramatically decreased compared to the four inches of rain the city saw in the short span of six hours.
Now, residents are left to deal with flooded streets and cars, toppled over trees, and continued rain the wake of Monday’s storm.