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Mayor Todd Gloria declared a state of emergency Monday after the morning storm intensified and quickly dropped more than two inches of rain leading to dozens of street rescues, cars swept away and signs of major damage to transit infrastructure.
The worst off take it hardest: The city evacuated dozens of homeless San Diegans from one of the city’s Balboa Park safe sleeping sites and a large Barrio Logan shelter as rain fell Monday.
Homeless residents who had been staying at the 20th and B Street safe sleeping site are now temporarily staying at the Municipal Gym in Balboa Park while residents of Alpha Project’s 16th Street and Newton Street shelter moved into the Balboa Park Activity Center.
The two homeless-serving operations weren’t the only ones impacted by Monday downpours. Father Joe’s Villages, which along with a handful of others provides additional beds during cold and rainy weather, said Monday it couldn’t take in additional unsheltered people at one of its locations due to the weather. Alpha Project CEO Bob McElroy said his nonprofit’s Midway District shelter also dealt with flooding. Meanwhile, maintenance staff and volunteers hurried to address flooding at the Living Water Church of the Nazarene in East Village so they could shelter homeless San Diegans overnight.
More reporting: The U-T’s Blake Nelson followed evacuees as they tried to salvage belongings, medicine and anything they could from the large Alpha Project tent shelter at 16th and Newton.
Next steps for the evacuees: It wasn’t immediately clear how long people who moved from the city’s safe sleeping site and the Barrio Logan shelter would remain in the Balboa Park facilities. McElroy, whose shelter saw another forced evacuation after a rainstorm in 2018, said he expected it would take weeks to clean and prep the tent structure for residents. Before and during Monday’s evacuation, McElroy said residents and staff trudged through water and initially walked to the Metropolitan Transit System parking structure so buses could take them to Balboa Park.
“The resilience of these folks is what makes me not want to give up,” McElroy said.
Southcrest, of course: Scenes of flooded freeways, people using paddle boards in Oceanside and Ocean Beach coarsed through social media. But flooding was most intense where it always is: Southcrest. We wrote about where flooding is always most intense.
Related: Monday’s rainstorm wreaked havoc on San Diego’s neighborhoods. Officials shut down highways, trolley service and rerouted buses.
For those seeking shelter, the Red Cross has opened an overnight emergency shelter at Lincoln High School, 4777 Imperial Ave., for residents impacted by flooding and storm damage. The city of San Diego has also opened a temporary shelter at the Golden Hill Recreation Center, 2600 Golf Course Drive. The location will remain open until 9 p.m. Monday evening.
It was a lot: It may go down as the 4th wettest day in San Diego’s recorded history.
For updates on the storm, road closures, shelter information and more visit https://www.sandiego.gov/storm.
NO.
i get stucked, this white is my car