SAN DIEGO (AP) – Flash floods inundated homes and overturned cars in San Diego on Monday as torrential rain swept through a large swath of the United States (US), toppling trees and overflowing streets across California.
Early morning flooding hit the town of Guerneville, north of San Francisco, where a creek overflowed after more than 10 centimetres (cm) of rain fell in 24 hours. The local school district cancelled classes for the day.
Later, the weather system unleashed a severe punch on the south end of the state in the second major rain event of the winter.
Floodwaters swept away vehicles and caused cars to pile on top of each other in parts of San Diego. Several feet of water inundated the Mountain View, Shelltown and Southcrest neighbourhoods, and multiple highways including Interstate 15.
A resident of San Diego Eddie Ochoa said it was just sprinkling when he and his sister went out for breakfast on Monday morning. When they returned to their family-owned auto body shop, the entire block was flooded and his sister’s parked car had been washed away.
“All that happened within an hour,” Ochoa said, guessing that the sewers had backed up.
They later found his sister’s car about 4.8 kilometres down the street.
“It’s never been that bad, ever. It’s crazy,” he said.
Over a three-hour period, a whopping 7.6cm of rain fell at nearby National City, while 5cm fell at San Diego International Airport, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. During the winter, the region typically averages around two inches of rain per month.
Deputies pulled people to safety after water rushed into homes in the Spring Valley and Casa de Oro neighbourhoods, said San Diego County Sheriff’s Zee Sanchez. Other residents escaped by wading through waist-high water carrying their cats and dogs.
“Flooding is pretty widespread out there,” Sanchez said. The department aided in a swift-water rescue near Santee, he said. No injuries were reported.
The San Diego River was flooding, the National Weather Service said, warning that crossing roads would be unsafe. The city fire department said it had rescued at least 24 people from the rushing San Diego and Tijuana rivers.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria declared a state of emergency and the city set up shelters to house displaced residents.
