What we're watching in the wake of San Diego's historic storm
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Vehicles were swept away by flooding after an explosive rainstorm in San Diego. Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images
The city has requested FEMA assistance to deal with the fallout of Monday's catastrophic storm and help prevent more damage from heavy rain expected next week.
Driving the news: Mayor Todd Gloria and his staff announced Thursday they are working with state and county governments to secure a federal disaster declaration that will allow for more resources and funding to help the community recover.
State of play: The historic downpour exposed the city's unfixed and underfunded stormwater infrastructure, as clean-up crews continue to assess damage and officials review reports from residents that will help determine how much assistance will come.
- The storm hit the southeastern neighborhoods of Southcrest, Mountain View and Encanto particularly hard, where some residents blame the city's congested drainage system and say the level of flooding could've been prevented.
The other side: City officials addressed those claims Thursday, touting consistent dredging, debris and vegetation removal, and general stormwater maintenance in those neighborhoods, but arguing it never would have been enough.
- Plus, it's hard to measure the effectiveness of those efforts considering the large scale of the area at risk.
- "You could maintain this system all day — if you get another storm event like this, it will happen again," said Kris McFadden, the city's deputy chief operating officer.
- Even a system designed to the gold standard would have failed, he added.
Between the lines: Dredging and maintenance can't solve flooding in the city's southeastern neighborhoods, McFadden said.
- "The solution is capital projects," he added, referring to green infrastructure investments that re-engineer stormwater systems, reclaim land developed in floodplains and capture and slow stormwater.
- "We need a dedicated funding source for stormwater."
Yes, but: A 2018 city audit came to the same conclusion, requiring the stormwater department to build a funding strategy.
- The department produced that strategy in January 2021, including consideration of asking voters to approve taxes or fees for stormwater infrastructure.
- In February 2022, the stormwater department told the City Council's environmental committee it had done all it could. The next steps were political decisions.
- Neither the City Council nor mayor publicly pursued the ballot measure further.
How you can help: With families stranded in flooded homes, transit services suspended and businesses destroyed, "San Diego Magazine" put together a list of more than 20 flood relief fundraisers and resources.
- GoFundMe, headquartered in San Diego, also has a searchable hub with verified fundraisers countywide.
- The San Diego Foundation launched a flood response fund to make emergency grants to nonprofit service organizations responding to the disaster.