San Diegans, Check in! First major city -wide flood of the century...

[haele]

I just came back from an hour and a half circuitous route to pick up the grandkids after their school flooded and power there went out. Only 2 1/2 miles away, normally a 20 minute there and back. To get there, I normally drive along Imperial Ave from Market to 69th, but the creek that runs along the Blue line Trolley overflowed about 3 - 5 ft above the banks. GPS was no help, especially since the whole area is hills and dips that were about 1 - 2 ft of rushing water.
I saw a jacked up Jeep stall out trying to ford, never saw anything like that here in San Diego since I moved here in 1984.
The bases all had shelter in place alerts.

Haele

[2naSalit]

1. I've got peeps in...

Four parts of the county. Trying to contact them.

[haele]

3. This was worse flooding than the hurricane that went through.

From what I could see, it ended up about twice as bad. This was a direct hit.

Haele

[intrepidity]

2. Wow, been watching the weather, was expecting that storm to get us

up here in Nor Cal. We got a bit of it yesterday/last night, but looks like that atmospheric river veered more south and slammed you guys.

Here's the guy I watch during storms:

[AnotherMother4Peace]

4. checking in from the coast - rains finally stopped (for now) - South I-5 traffic stopped due to flooding due to clogged

drainage, neighborhoods major flooded w/water/mud due to clogged drainage ditches/drains - a big mess all around town. Many major roadways closed due to flooding, accidents, spin-outs, etc. Much damage to business/homes. We're okay - just emptying out all the water collecting receptacles around the house.

We got an emergency alert to stay off the roadways if possible and flooding alert.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

5. I did discover that puppy pads can be a Godsend. They can "capture" & hold about 2 gallons of water. I rolled several

puppy pads up and secured them around the house, garage door, property where too much water can become a problem and they worked! I have 4 geriatric cats so I always have puppy pads on hand.

I didn't have enough sandbags, so - PUPPY PADS!!!!

[haele]

6. According to NWS, my area got around 3.23 inches in 4 hours.

That's way more rain than this area is used to. We're high/costal desert. Who was a bit too exuberant while doing the rain dance? Don't use Peacock feathers, use feathers from native birds.
Sheesh....

Actually, Saturday night we were near an Indian (red dot) banquet hall up around Mira Mesa, and they were all dancing around the bride and groom with rainbow LED enhanced peacock feather fans, quite spectacular. Mira Mesa only got around 2 inches. They usually get more than South Central...

Haele

[haele]

7. Kick - this was bad. San Diego (the city) never has to declare a state of emergency.

We're gathering together some good clothes the girls don't wear anymore and getting them to the Red Cross.
We're lucky our home is on a hillside with good street drainage. Nothing got damaged.
Some of the grandkid's classmates weren't so lucky; the oldest got a hold of some of her friends who had to go to the evacuation center; one friend's family lost all their pets because the house was next to a culvert and everyone was at school or work when it overflowed; the house got up 5 ft. of fast moving flood water running through it over a period of four hours.
The water in the creeks and culverts rose fast, and all the concrete was just focusing it into the storm drains and overwhelming the system. Laz and I saw plumes of rushing brown water kicked up 6 to 10 ft ft. high along the Imperial Ave. culvert as the flood was hitting bridges and the trolley line just three hours into the storm that started around 7am. 15 minutes later, a good chunk of the route we had driven through to get to the grandkid's school was at least 2 ft. deep in water, and I got a phone notification from Naval Region SW to get to high ground or shelter in place. (It was a work at home day, so I was able to head out as soon as the emergency notice went out)
The drive to the school looked like monsoonal flooding in Central America, at least a foot of rushing, roiling brown water going down hillside streets, covering sidewalks and driveways.
Unreal.

Haele