San Diego is mopping up after the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in the city in the month of January, a deluge that washed away parked cars, flooded homes, closed schools, and wreaked havoc on public transportation.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria declared a state of emergency around 5 p.m. Monday, urging residents to stay home and never travel on flooded roads. Gov. Gavin Newsom followed suit with a statewide emergency declaration on Tuesday.
David Roth, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland, said that the rainfall, which produced the city’s fourth wettest day on record — not far behind the all-time record of 3.34 inches in 1854 — was “very unique.”
“They should be getting some rain this time of year, but not like this,” he said.
As the region dries out from the unusual storm, the Southern California Rental Housing Association released a list of tips and resources for locals, such as where to fill out property damage assessment surveys online, learning about price gouging and how to avoid it, and where to sign up for emergency alerts.
The organization also encouraged people to park in areas that are less likely to flood when heavy rains are on the way to help mitigate damage to vehicles.
Gloria said Monday that over 100 homes in Southcrest and Mountain View had been so extensively damaged by flooding as to be uninhabitable.
County officials said “several hundred” homes were damaged within the San Miguel Fire Protection District, which covers Spring Valley, Mt. Helix, Rancho San Diego and other unincorporated East County areas.
Reuters contributed to this report.
