The Jan. 22 Floods Displaced More Than 1,000 San Diegans from Their Homes

Floating cars. Rescue boats. Water flowing through houses like sieves. The Jan. 22 floods seared images of devastation into the minds of San Diegans. But the full extent of the devastation is only now, more than two weeks later, coming into view.

The floods displaced at least 1,000 people from their homes, according to new numbers compiled by Voice of San Diego. And a new preliminary damage report shows that at least 595 buildings sustained major damage, according to county officials. 

The majority of those displaced already live closer to the edge than most San Diegans. The floods pounded the neighborhoods of Shelltown, Southcrest and Mountain View — communities where the median income is significantly less than the rest of the city. 

It’s still unclear whether those made temporarily homeless by the flood will get the resources they need to stay in temporary housing. So far, a hodgepodge of government and non-government organizations have stepped in to put people in motels. But most of those organizations are out of money. 

The San Diego Housing Commission and the YMCA of San Diego County have put more people in hotels than any other organization. But the Housing Commission’s CEO told City Councilmembers that the organization is already spending money that was budgeted for other housing needs. Councilmembers voted to allow the Housing Commission to move $2.25 million toward flood relief on Tuesday. 

That amount of money would allow the Housing Commission to provide temporary housing for 500 families for up to 28 days. Beyond that, it’s unclear what agency will make sure San Diego’s flood survivors have somewhere to stay. 

Local YMCA leaders managed to raise roughly $175,000 from several charitable foundations to temporarily house flood survivors. But so far, the local Y has spent more than $220,000. The money is tapped out. 

Local officials have hopes of tapping state and federal dollars to plug the gap, but those funds are not a guarantee. State and federal agencies may ultimately reimburse different groups that have provided housing assistance, but the money could take years to materialize.

The Housing Commission has provided motel rooms for at least 486 people. The local YMCA has provided rooms for at least 325 people. 

San Diego Unified School District, the Village Green Apartments and the Chicano Federation have also placed flood survivors in motels. City officials and the Red Cross are providing some families shelter at the Municipal Gym at Balboa Park. 

Voice tallied roughly 1,300 people who had been placed in housing or shelter by the various organizations. It’s possible there is some overlap between the different organizations. If a survivor, say, started on a San Diego Unified hotel voucher, but then switched to a YMCA voucher that person would be counted twice. 

It’s much more likely, however, that the count is short, according to those leading the relief effort. Many survivors have been staying with family or friends or paying for their own hotel. Those people aren’t included in Voice’s count. 

The full extent of property damage is also beginning to emerge. A joint preliminary damage report by various federal and state officials assessed 889 private properties, according to a county spokesman. Of those, 595 had major damage — meaning water levels rose above 18 inches or the home is uninhabitable. 

As of last week, nearly 3,500 households had self-reported storm damage, according to San Diego County officials. 

Michael Rios lived in an apartment on National Avenue in Southcrest. On Jan. 22 his car and apartment flooded. With his dog, he first sought shelter at Lincoln High School, but then managed to get a YMCA hotel voucher. He doesn’t expect he’ll ever go back to his apartment. That means his next tasks will be finding a new place to live and getting a new car. 

But for now, that’s hard to do. Rios hotel voucher lasts for 14 days. He’s hoping the state or federal government will step in to provide longer term housing that will give him the time and space he needs to get his life back up and running. 

“When you don’t know where you’re going to be in the next week, two weeks — it’s too much,” he said.