SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Terrified homeowners had to wade through waist-deep water to escape their home in San Diego after record rains brought flash flooding across the city on Monday.
“The house I’ve lived in all my life just flooded. Scariest moment of my life,” Hugo Pacheco wrote after posting the video of his flooding escape. “This was me evacuating. Everything’s replaceable, but it just hurts seeing it all go. Please pray for me and my family.”
The video shows the fear and exhaustion in a woman’s voice as she struggles through the flood water – at one point up to her chest; her pants and sweatshirt weighing her down in the chilly waters.
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Another man and his sister could only watch as floodwater raging down a city street picked up their car and quickly carried it away. It had been parked on the street before the storm.
Firefighters and lifeguards performed 24 high water rescues from the San Diego and Tijuana Rivers alone in San Diego County. The San Diego Fire Department said crews rescued hundreds of others from flooded homes.
The NWS said 2 to 3 inches of rain fell over the San Diego area, including a January-record 2.73 inches at San Diego’s airport – its 4th-wettest day on record. The water level on the San Diego River was still rising in the afternoon, trapping some office workers. San Diego usually sees only 1.98 inches of rain for the entire month of January, the second-wettest month.
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Drivers on interstates were not safe either. Local media caught emergency crews trying to unclog storm drains on I-15, which was underwater. All lanes northbound were stopped.
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Some drivers ditched cars in favor of paddle boards.
Even four-legged friends needed help. Pacific Beach lifeguards pulled drivers and a very confused pet from cars near the beach.
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National Avenue in San Diego became a river and the floodwater washed away cars.
Waves were cresting on downtown roads and lapping against a paralyzed light rail train.
Neighbors helped neighbors try to save themselves and their belongings as the water rose. Water receded in one “lucky” neighborhood. The high watermark on the garage is well above the car’s engine, and the water has deposited mud on the hood.
The rain tapered off in San Diego Monday evening. The next storm hits California on Wednesday, but major storms look to stay north of San Diego.