S1: It's time for Midday Edition on KPBS. It's been a year since southeast San Diego was devastated by floodwaters. Today we're talking about efforts to recover. I'm Jade Hyndman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired and engaged. We'll talk about how inequalities and inequities led to flooding in southeast neighborhoods.
S2: I was really struck , you know , as I was reporting on the aftermath of just how vulnerable a lot of these victims were even before the floods.
S1: Plus , one survivor's story of rebuilding. And a volunteer talks about the challenges to rebuild the homes. That's ahead on midday Edition. On average , January is the wettest month of the year in San Diego , with two inches of rain for the entire month. But on this day last year , 2.73in of rain covered San Diego in 24 hours , the biggest rainstorm since 1850. The fast moving floods were devastating. Thousands of people were displaced and their lives forever changed. Hundreds of families have yet to recover and some are still without a home. Joining me to discuss that day and the year since is Andrew Bowen. He's our metro reporter here at KPBS. Andrew , welcome.
S2: Hi , Jade. Thanks.
S1: So I'm wondering if you can take me back to that day this all happened.
S2: Wow , this rain is getting really , really intense. I don't think I've ever seen a rain event like this in San Diego before. And at some point in the morning , getting some emergency notification on my phone. Uh , you know , clearly thinking , all right , this is a news event now , and and I hope everybody's okay. And then as the day started progressing , you know , seeing these videos on social media of cars washing down the street of , you know , just , uh , waves of , of water going through , uh , you know , neighborhoods of homes being flooded. And , um , I was really struck. You know , as I was reporting on the aftermath of just how vulnerable a lot of these victims were even before the floods. I spoke with both renters and homeowners who were struggling with the cost of living , trying to to keep up with with life in San Diego. The floods just destroyed what little stability they may have had in their homes. I also really felt a deep connection between the coverage of the floods and the reporting that I do on climate action in city government. You know , the floods , the fires in Los Angeles , at the very least , were exacerbated or made worse , or made more likely by our continued dependence on burning fossil fuels. And just really seeing a nexus between the debates that we have in San Diego over bike lanes , over housing density and walkable neighborhoods so people don't have to drive as much over freeway expansions , which we know increase greenhouse gas emissions. These political debates aren't always front and center. When you're out there surveying the damage from these disasters and talking with the victims , but they're absolutely connected , and I feel some responsibility as a journalist to help people understand how those things are connected.
S1: Yeah , I mean , that is so true. Everything is so interconnected. A lot has happened in the lives of those affected , yet so much has really kind of been at a standstill.
S2: Other names were Monica Garcia , the mother , and Ashley Manzano , the daughter. Ashley was living in her grandma's house and she woke up to this storm outside. Um , she was kind of concerned about it. Talking with the neighbors , wondering , you know , is this going to lighten up a little bit ? When the water started coming through the floorboards , she knew it was time to leave and she had to get out. So she , um. But at that point , the streets were impassable. She opened up and there was just this rush of water that came inside the house. So she had to evacuate to her neighbor's roof with her grandma , who was 89 years old at the time. And she was up there for four hours waiting for emergency responders. You know , she called 911. They said , you know , our people are overwhelmed. They're out there helping , um , other victims. Um , but please stay on the roof , you know , and stay safe. And , um , she , you know , when I spoke to her more recently , she talked about suffering from PTSD of , you know , even as she as I asked her to sort of go over what happened that day , what she remembers. Her memories are incredibly vivid. But she also said , I have to kind of keep some distance from myself and and reliving these experiences because it can trigger , you know , a response and can just be overwhelming. Um , another thing that really struck me about talking with this family is the health issues that they've all had , um , both before and after the floods. So the grandma now has early stage dementia. Uh , the mother has lupus. Uh , the daughter has , um , you know , throughout the past years , they've been she's basically been couch surfing. And there was a period of time where she was living in emergency , you know , hotels that were provided to the victims. She didn't have access to a kitchen where she could cook healthy food. And and the the lack of access to healthy food really took a toll on her health. She now has a buildup of fluid in her eyes that are that are. Her ophthalmologist told her that she could go blind. Uh , and and so it's just so , so devastating. Uh , the lack of a safety net that we have in the immediate aftermath of a storm , but also in the long term recovery , uh , is it's just truly heartbreaking.
S1: It is just. I mean , it is astonishing how much , uh , such a traumatic experience. And then the chronic stress thereafter. Uh , it's amazing the toll that it can take on a person's mental and physical health. You've been reporting on the problems with the city's stormwater system for quite some time now.
S2: One of the first stories that I did for KPBS almost ten years ago was about the city wanting to declare a state of emergency preemptively in advance of an El Nino winter. And they were afraid. You know , if we don't clear these storm channels , then , uh , then then we're going to see some flooding. And you know that they were talking about frustrations with the regulations on that maintenance that they wanted to do , um , the environmental regulations and things like that. Uh , I wrote a feature in 2018 about how storm drains are the city's biggest unfunded infrastructure needs. So the gap between what we have to spend to fix the problem and the resources that we do have is the widest for storm drains. It's greater than streetlights , road repair , you know , fire stations , any other type of infrastructure category that the city has , storm drains and stormwater infrastructure is by far the worst. Um , you know , it's a less visible , less sexy problem. A lot of the storm drains , we kind of don't even know are there. They're just kind of in the background of of our day to day lives as we move about the city. Uh , San Diego is usually a pretty sunny place. We don't get a lot of major storms like this. But when the storm stormwater infrastructure fails , the consequences can absolutely be catastrophic. And , um , you know , I think the failure of the storm water system , there were several reasons behind it. First of all , of course , the intensity of the storm was something that , um , you know , it doesn't happen all that often. It wasn't just that there was a lot of water falling. It was that it fell very quickly in a short amount of time. Another reason was just the inadequacy of the stormwater system , the capacity of that system to absorb water and keep it out of the neighborhoods and move it , you know , in a in a safe way to the bays and the ocean. Uh , and the third was the buildup of debris and vegetation in a lot of these channels. Um , you know , again , the regulations on clearing those channels , permits needing to get permits from multiple government agencies. Uh , the need to restore habitat for in other parts of the city , because these stormwater channels will will become habitat for endangered species sometimes , and the city has a legal obligation when it clears those channels to create , you know , that sort of wetlands somewhere else in the city. So it's an extraordinarily complex problem. I think people absolutely have a right to be angry about the city's failure over all the decades to maintain this infrastructure , but they also have to acknowledge that the city does not have the resources to keep up with all of the needs.
S1: And so the city says they have made improvements to its stormwater infrastructure since last year.
S2: And they were able to do that because of an emergency declaration. Uh , but now now that those channels have been cleared , they still have to mitigate for the , the , the clearance of those channels by finding the those , you know , wetlands and other parts of the city that they can restore or maintain in another spot. And so , you know , now that all of that emergency work is done , they're kind of having to backtrack and do all of the work that they weren't able to do in advance of the storms. Now after the fact. Um , you know , permitting is hard. I mean , these are all systems of government that we create to to maintain order , to maintain , you know , some , some balance of , of the built environment and the natural environment. And , and it's not a perfect system we have. I think everyone would agree with that.
S1: Southeast San Diego is home to some of the most underserved communities in the county.
S2: You know , and I think a lot of it comes back to the age of the communities. And when these homes were built , when the when the streets and the roads were built. Uh , South crest , which was again , one of the worst hit neighborhoods , was developed , you know , in the 50s and 60s. Some homes even before that. If you dig deep enough , you will find. Decades of neglect that are largely due to the way that we have paid for infrastructure , building and maintenance. You know , I could take it back to 1978. Certainly there's history before then. But in 1978 , voters in California passed proposition 13 , which limited the growth of property taxes that that a homeowner pays. Decades of that tax policy have really starved local governments of the funding that they need to maintain the infrastructure. Instead , you know , when we lack those general taxes that are paid by everyone , a lot of that infrastructure gets funded with what's called development impact fees. And so when you build a new community , a master planned community , just from scratch , the cost of the infrastructure is baked into the cost of the housing in newer parts. And this is why in newer parts of the city you'll see very nice parks , very nice libraries , very well maintained streets , because all of that infrastructure was built much more recently in the older parts of the city that have not seen a lot of new development and that have not received the the fees that would come with new development. You don't have that source of funding. Instead , it's the general taxes that that have to pay for the maintenance of that infrastructure. And those those resources are spread too thin. They're spread across the entire city. And there are many communities that are that are still waiting for their new parks and libraries. And so , you know , the the poor infrastructure and the inequity that we see in Southeast San Diego relative to wealthier parts of the city is , uh , I would say , a legacy of , of a , um , of an inequity that has existed for decades. It may not necessarily be an intentional disinvestment in those communities. It is simply a failure to proactively correct for the inequities and injustices of the past , which then just allows these patterns to persist. And I think we as a society really need to have a conversation about that history and really remember it , because it's truly at the root of so much of the injustices that we see today.
S1: Well , I mean , the reporting that you're doing , the history , it is all so important. I mean , from practices like redlining to the history of highway 252 , I mean , that Plant Highway was never built. So how is that relevant to the inequities that led to the flooding in the southeast ? Yeah.
S2: I'll give a quick plug for my podcast Freeway Exit. You know , this is a story that we explore. So highway 252 was planned in since the late 60s to be a connector between the five and the 805 , and it would have gone right through this neighborhood of South Crest. After this , these plans kind of became known in the community. Um , residents in these neighborhoods rose up and said , you know , we don't want a free way through our community. We want to keep our homes. We want to keep our businesses. We don't want the pollution. We don't want the noise. We don't want the disconnection. You know , we want to be able to walk across the streets to our neighbors rather than having to walk a mile around , you know , to get to an underpass. And so , you know , after those years of , of opposition to this highway , they ultimately killed it. And they were successful. And , and Caltrans ultimately withdrew their plans. They turned the land back over to the city. And what I had , what I didn't have time for in the podcast , but which is absolutely part of the story , is what happened after that. The city was trying to redevelop this land. That would have been a highway. And there are some great examples of beautiful things that they did with that land. And then there's also a story of corruption. This was managed by a redevelopment agency. Some of the officials in that agency were convicted of of corruption and embezzlement. And , you know , it's just a really sad history of people , um , being , uh , you know , overlooked and victimized by , um , both government and nonprofit and private sector entities that just did not take care of these people and did not build up this community in the way that that it could have been built.
S1: It's such important reporting that you're doing and especially putting things into context , like what's happened here , uh , in this area , you've been , you know , really over the last couple of days reporting on the long road to recovery for flood survivors.
S2: Uh , it's , uh , right now the estimated cost is $56 million to increase the capacity of that system to absorb and convey the storm water. To prevent this flooding. They're also planning bio swales in the neighborhood. And these are , um , basically little basins in the ground that collect rainwater and allow it to absorb into the Earth and also provide a natural filtration system and can relieve some of the pressure on the larger stormwater system. You know , these plans are great , and I think the community will be really glad to see them executed. The problem is the city just doesn't have the money to execute those plans. They don't have that. You know , planning infrastructure is one thing. Having the funding to build it is another. You know , the sales tax measure that that voters very narrowly rejected last year would have potentially helped with , with paying for some of these needs. Um , there's hope for a stormwater infrastructure bond or some kind of tax measure in 2026 that that maybe voters at that point will have changed their minds or , you know , decided this is this is the right funding measure that we're willing to pay for. Um , but we'll have to see where that goes.
S1: All right. I know we'll be , uh , keeping up with your reporting , Andrew. I've been speaking with Andrew Bowen. He's our metro reporter here at KPBS. And thank you , as always. Coming up , a flood survivor shares her journey to rebuild.
S3: We really need more than kind words. We need inclusive , equitable programs that help all flood survivors.
S1: KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS midday edition. I'm Jade Hindman. On today's show , we're talking about the devastating floods that ravaged San Diego communities exactly one year ago today. For Jessica Kelly , that January morning began with joy and celebration. Her son turned eight that day , but floods ripped through her South Crest neighborhood , changing everything. She lost her home and a lot more. Well , now Jessica and Chicago are living in an RV. Like hundreds of flood survivors , she's struggling to rebuild her life. And Jessica joins me now. Jessica , welcome to midday Edition. Hi. Hi , Jessica.
S3: Um. It's definitely. I'm more emotional than I expected coming up to the anniversary. Um , I mean , definitely , I feel like we all collectively. Because. Because I am very much connected to my southwest community still as survivors and as friends and neighbors. Um , and I think before the holidays , we really started kind of hitting those waves of grief all over again , um , anticipating , like our first holiday outside of our homes and coming up to the anniversary. So a little emotional , but overall hanging in there.
S1: Oh , I'm glad to hear that. And I'm so happy that you were also able to join us today. Tell me about your experience on the day of the flood , your son's eighth birthday. You woke up , you take him to school. Then what happened ? Yeah.
S3: Which is a typical , kind of like , rainy morning. Um , you know , he actually wanted to stay home from school that day because one of his classmates stayed home. And I was like , yeah , you know , it's just not miss more school. Like , we always. We miss enough mom sick days. Let's just go. And then , you know , we'll we'll have some fun after school. So we drove over to , uh , Point Loma , where he goes to a public charter school. And , um , after I dropped him off , I was going to run over to Party City and grab some goodies to drop off to his class. Like , you know , little cute gift packages because they do , uh , celebrations at school for birthdays. And as I'm driving over there , um , I start noticing how heavy the rain is and cars stranded in water all over Midway and Rosecrans. And then I pulled into the party city parking lot and all the electricity was out. And it was just very strange watching all that kind of unravel within , you know , like an hour period of time. And so I got really worried and I was like , oh , man , I think I left my , my door open. So I called Charles dad and I was like , hey , what area are you are you working right now ? Like , is there any way you can swing by the house and and check ? He's like , yeah , of course. And I'm like , you know , making phone calls , trying to get sandbags because I start worrying about like , oh , what if a couple inches gets into my door , I gotta make sure I don't have any flood damage in the house , you know ? Yeah. And , um , pretty much. I got this phone call from his dad , and he. He could barely speak , like he was , like , stuttering , and he couldn't get the words out of his mouth , and he's like , everything is messed up. I mean , he was cussing , but , I mean , he's like , every call the neighbors call. The neighbor is like. He was like , panicking. And I'm like , what's happening ? So I called my neighbor , um , because we lived like a little fourplex call my neighbor , and she faced times me in six feet of water in her living room.
S1: Oh my goodness. And it happened so quickly. I mean , you make a run to get party favors and come back to a home that's lost.
S3: Yeah , and I didn't return back to the home because pretty much it was like. And that was , um , a really challenging part of the day was there was no there were so many flood things going on at once. There just wasn't enough people to rescue the neighbors. So my neighbor was in the house swimming with her children who didn't go to school that day , two of them. And I immediately was like , we need to get you guys some kind of flotation devices. Like , because she was like , we might just swim out and try to climb on top of the car the whole time I'm FaceTiming her and I'm just in gridlock traffic from all the flooded cars and in Point Loma. Um , and so I was like , trying to get back down to South San Diego. But it pretty much was impossible. I stopped by target. I was trying to call 911 and let them know the situation. Like , hey , I know that like , resources are spread real thin right now , but you don't understand like my neighbors are. They're they're drowning like they're drowning in the living room right now. Like someone has to get to them. Um , and so I was able to return once the water levels went down. Uh , around 4:00 pm. Mhm.
S1: Mhm. I mean , you know , and hearing all that , you know , devastation like this isn't just about losing a physical home. It's an entire community.
S3: Um , I miss my neighbors. The familiarity I lived for for years. And , you know , we never had any problems. And everyone was really nice. And there was lots of community cats , and the kids would all play like we were in each other's houses every day. Like , you know , we might as well all have been roommates. Um , and and it was just home. You know , like the the smells of the food , the music , the sounds , the nature trail that , you know , ran along behind our house. We used to go walking through there and we'd walk to the playgrounds all the time. Um , but , yeah , it was home , you know , and we all knew each other , and we were all close. And we did things together all the time , and it was just so easy. You would just pop in next door. And , you know , my neighbor used to cook this. Amazing. She cooked , she would cook amazing food , and she would just drop off a plate. You know , if you needed. It was like like a TV show. You know , like , hey , can I borrow a cup of sugar ? Like , oh , the kids are coming over and we'd all do , like , dollar store runs together with the kids and let them go wild and buy , like , $5 worth of toys. And , like , we'd all be singing karaoke in the car. And it was. It was really nice. Um , and I'm glad we're all still in touch , but I do miss , you know , being around each other. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. That community , I mean , so fast forward to today.
S3: Um , you know , I think nobody really when you when you end up in a disaster like this , you don't really you can't really even imagine what it would be like and what a recovery would look like. Um , so now I am , you know , I can't return back to my my previous home. Um , so luckily , my grandpa gifted me a travel trailer , so I was able to move into that when we were staying in the hotels at the county and the city had provided. Um , but they were very short term solutions , like two weeks at a time. You know , often the company that was contracted wouldn't book them fast enough. So then they would make you move with like a 12 hour notice. Um , so it was very unstable. And , you know , sometimes you would get put in like a really unsafe hotel and for myself with just like me and like my son , that was like a big priority was safety. Um , so that was kind of like a short term , you know , one two week at a time thing. So was it. Once I was able to get into the travel trailer , um , even my kid was like , so ready. He's like , no more hotels. This is nonsense. You know , we've been in the travel trailer since the end of March , and , you know , I've done everything to kind of , like , make it feel like home as much as possible. It's pretty big. It actually sleeps seven people , so there's plenty of space for us. And we have a pet snake , and we have , uh , we just got some fish yesterday because we had a fish tank over at beta as well , which , you know , rest in peace to all the beautiful life that was in the tank because it , you know , it fell over into the flood waters. Um , but but the difficult thing is , is that because we were not in the hotels May 23rd , that's like the kind of arbitrary requirement to be able to receive any kind of assistance as flood survivors from the city of San Diego. So we have been excluded from all support from them. Um , and so that's been pretty challenging because , um , like psychologically processing that like families were able to receive , you know , $15,000 to be able to secure housing and do what they need to do to , like , remain secure and continue to recover. Um , so I was , you know , I went to all those great meetings with City council and Board of Supervisors. Um , so then to be left out of that and basically kind of like really , honestly left on our own , it is challenging because now our stability is very our stability is at the risk. You know , I , I've ran into hiccups throughout the year , like any regular life difficulties you may face. Um , but I'm at risk of , you know , we're all , all of us who are left out of the recovery efforts , which is like over 500 people. Um , we're all at risk of losing everything. We've worked so hard to overcome. And so that's. It can be overwhelming at times and definitely challenging to cope with that. Right.
S1: Right. Talk more about about coping with that because you know , it's it's like being excluded from that assistance puts you all in a place of limbo almost. And I would imagine that that is just a constant state of stress. Absolutely.
S3: Absolutely. It's a constant state of stress. Um , you're constantly like , grieving over and over again. Um , you know , people are overwhelmed with endless to do's and tasks , um , stressing about , you know , remaining stable , keeping a roof over your kid's head. Um , most of us , for the past year , we put off all of our medical stuff that wasn't like emergency. So now , at the same time , we're trying to juggle , like coming up with money for copays and medical procedures and dental things. Um , so it's a lot to cope with because , you know , most of us anxiety , PTSD , insomnia , um , and so that affects our ability to like because , I mean , really like it was like everything was like , um , you know , they always make those jokes about , like , Super Mario or like video games when it gets really fast and , like , speeds up the last minute. That's how the whole last year has been , you know , it's like constant like go , go , go because you because you have to , you know , like the only way to make it and to keep your recovery going is to you can't stop , you can't rest , um , when you need to rest the most. You really can't stop. You got to keep going. Because if you do , it could all fall apart.
S1: Right ? Which makes health so important. What community groups have been helpful in this , um , rebuild and recovery process for you if you turned to for help.
S3: Um , the Southeast disaster Uh response team. So mainly the Harvey Family Foundation has been super helpful. Um. Pillars of the community. Um , the Jackie Robinson YMCA. Um , so those are places where you're able to talk to people. Um , tell them what you need. Try to look for any other kind of resources. Um , and just just having , like , people that that listen to you and acknowledge , like , your reality and validate your experience to balance off the dehumanizing experience of being a flood survivor. Um , that doesn't receive help because you're constantly having to , like , basically fight mentally and remind yourself that , like , we deserve better and that we're worth help and we're worth , you know , nationwide news coverage like any other disaster. Um , that our lives matter , our neighborhood mattered. And so those are kind of like the main orgs that have really been there for all of us and are doing the work and who haven't left us. They weren't just here for photo ops and , you know , opportunities in the beginning. Um , they're still here. And , you know , we're all still meeting , like every Monday and trying to come up with creative solutions to , like , keep the recovery going and , you know , create whatever kind of support we can , um , and keep rebuilding homes because there's so many homes that haven't even begun their rebuilding process. And this people living in them with the mold and with all the damage , you know , there's homeless families , people couch surfing. So it's beautiful to be a part of a movement that , you know , in these orgs and all these survivors and advocates where we're , you know , we're not going to give up. You know , like , we we're not going to stop now. We didn't come this far just to come this far. You know , like we're gonna keep going and figure out some miracles somehow , one way or another.
S1: Yeah , well , you mentioned that you've also been actively building community with other flood survivors , neighbors and so on and so forth.
S3: Um , or people who are in other communities in southeast San Diego that , like , are a little bit further from mine because the creek flooding was like such a huge area. Um , even families in Spring Valley , you know , we would connect on online. Um , so it's been really amazing because unless you have gone through a similar tragedy , it's really hard to put yourself in , like in our shoes of like , what it's like to lose 100% of your belongings , you know , your house , your car. I didn't lose my car , but but other people , you know , it's really hard to , um , to even imagine what that would look like and like how to help each other. So , um , we created , like , these huge WhatsApp , WhatsApp group chats and Facebook groups , and just constantly sharing information as much as we can. Um , warning people about , you know , predatory practices and how to stay safe. And so it's been really amazing. Um , because I think that like to have your experience kind of like validated and have people who really understand what you're going through to like , be in community with is , um , is so important and it's very healing. Um , just to have someone to talk to who , like , who truly gets what you're going through. Um , and then also , like , we learn from each other , you know , like we were all in hotels trying to figure out , you know , what to do , how to like , because all these little logistical things , you know , like , how do you eat every day in a hotel ? How do you. Okay. So we would be like , oh , I got an ice chest. Okay , I'm gonna get an ice chest , too. Um , you know , so all these little ideas for just getting creative and , like , little hacks to make things work. So , um , and then really , I think we all inspire each other. Um , what we've all overcome has been absolutely miraculous and amazing. And I think that every time we come together and we share our ideas and we support each other , it just makes us all that much stronger. So yeah , I appreciate them all so much.
S1: It's so important especially. I mean , also , I'm curious , you know , what's it like raising Chicago through all of this ? I imagine that even a year later , it can be really difficult to explain this kind of thing to a child and to be strong for that child and , and definitely provide a sense of security.
S3: Um , because he's old enough now that , like , he fully understands it. And the kids , you know , even like the neighbor kids and like , they talk about it all the time. They talk about their experiences all the time. And it's really it's absolutely heartbreaking , you know , because this is such a huge defining part of their childhood. And it's something that they'll never forget. And it's extremely traumatic. And , you know , they'll be fine. And then the next minute they're like reliving the experience and they're crying and they're having meltdowns. Um , and so it is it is really difficult , um , going through that. And at the same time , um , it has definitely lit a little fire in Chicago where he understands 100% like how important community is and how important showing up for others is. I mean , he is actually he wanted to come with me to these interviews today. He was like , I don't want to go to school. I want to come to the interviews. And he wants to go to city council , and he he wants to be a part of things. And so I think that's really , um , like there's challenges , but also I try to involve him just enough so that he can see that value and how powerful community is , and how important it is to us to stand up for ourselves and and speak the truth and stand up for others. And I hope that he'll forever keep these experiences with him to like , pay attention to what's going on in his community. Right ? Like , like literally what's going on in your backyard ? Because we didn't even know there was a flood channel back there. Yeah. I thought it was just like a nature trail and maybe like a creek , because there was a lot of , like , wildlife. So I figured there had to be some kind of water back there. Um , so it's hard , but at the same time , kids gave you strength that , like , you know , you never knew you had as a parent. So , uh , it is motivating and it motivates me to set aside , you know , heaviness and not , like , carry around with me all the time and remember to have fun and to laugh and enjoy our time together. And yeah , so that's kind of , I guess a couple sides of it. Yeah.
S1: No that's great. I mean , you know , and I heard you mentioned the , the stormwater channel that was behind your home. Um , do you have any final messages you'd like to share , especially for elected officials.
S3: For for elected officials ? Um , I really appreciate that some elected officials have started expressing , you know , words of support and encouragement because in the beginning , um , there really wasn't any of that. And it really felt like nobody cared and nobody was gonna , like , do anything to help us. And we had to just advocate for ourselves and our neighbors so much. Um , but we really need more than kind words. Um , we need inclusive , equitable programs that help all flood survivors. It makes no sense to just randomly pass out $15,000 to a random number of flood survivors and then leave the other half to fend for themselves. Um , I think that at this point , it's not too late. Um , we can't just give up now. You know , we have to make it right. And this is something that I think should concern all San Diegans , because , yes , we come from the underserved communities of like southwest , etc.. Um , but at this point , we need better. Um , our infrastructure needs to be cared for. The flood channels need to be cared for. All these preventable disasters , um , need to be taken care of now. And we can't wait until after another flood or after a fire to start getting it together. Like , we need disaster plans and recovery and support and systems in place now , like this past year was our opportunity to really learn hands on and work out the kinks for future systems. But as of now , we're not there yet. Um , but we can definitely , um , still get there. You know , it's not too late. We can make it right. We can complete the flood recovery and be prepared for any type of future disaster that comes San Diego's way.
S1: I've been speaking with Jessica colleagues. Survivor of last year's devastating floods. Jessica , thank you so much for sharing your story with us and we wish you the best.
S3: Thank you so much for having me. Take care.
S1: Up next , one volunteer who's working through the challenges of rebuilding homes.
S4: Trying to get permits , and trying to deal with the city has been very slow , almost impossible.
S1: KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. We've been talking with people who survived San Diego's devastating floods one year ago and a year later , rebuilding and recovering have for some been a slow process. For many , that means navigating the permitting process for new construction , which some say has been costly and confusing. For the past year , Juan Chavez has been helping survivors rebuild their homes. He's a volunteer with San Diego Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster , otherwise known as void. He's helped restore nearly two dozen damaged homes. I spoke with Juan earlier this week and began by asking him to take me back to that day.
S4: Well , my mother in law was involved , and I have two of my sisters in law that live in the same neighborhood in Southeast San Diego. And we heard , because my mother in law , of course , was in the house with one of my nieces. And her house stands out maybe about four feet up in the air. And then water was coming in. And then my niece kept calling in and saying to my wife , you know , the water's coming in too fast , too fast. And we never thought , ever expected the water to rise that fast. But within minutes it was inside the house. And by that time , it was too late for my niece to try to get my mother in law out because she has dementia and she's in a wheelchair , and all they could do was put her up on a kitchen countertop and just hope that somebody could get to them and rescue them. But it took about four hours. The water actually went inside the house three and a half more feet. So you could imagine how much water was there in that neighborhood. And her home. Her house is actually one of the houses that sits up high. The rest of the neighbors , you could you could see a line through the house outside from their stucco of how high the water was. It was like 7.5ft. Luckily it happened during the late morning , so people were either at work , or the people that were there could see what they were doing and how they could get out. And , and , uh , but I think that's that was the only blessing of that day , that it happened during the day when most people were at work and , you know , and the people that were home could , could figure out how to get out , because if it happened during the night , there would be no way. It just came too fast. Right.
S1: Right.
S4: We live in Spring Valley , and my sister in law that her house flooded was taken to our home to. So they live with us because she watches my mother in law during the week , and my other sister in law actually got a motorhome parked in front of her house and started with the mock outs and the rebuild and stuff on their homes , but it's been very slow because trying to get permits and trying to deal with the city has been very slow , almost impossible. Um , but everybody's , you know , everybody's doing what they can to try to get their houses back. I mean , here we are , putting a house together , trying to get these people into their apartment. But my mother in law's house is still nowhere near everything. Her is just has house. Half the house is drywall and the other half is not. It's been put on hold by the city because the inspectors , they want to come in and they look at everything and it , you know , it just it's just a time process and just trying to get the right permits. That's another issue. It's just been a nightmare.
S1: Right ? I mean , talk a bit more about that , about the challenges in getting this work done. Um , you mentioned the permits.
S4: And as far as homes that got flooded , you need permits for drywall , for electrical , for plumbing. Everything was underwater. And when they knocked out people's houses , a lot of these houses got tore up. Um , like my mother in law's house. The people that came in and just just ripped everything off the walls to get everything out. You know , they didn't care what they were tearing up walls or what they were doing , but , you know , it got done. But now having to rebuild , you know , walls and stuff inside of your house that got knocked down or they were either dry rotted , whatever you're putting up in your wood. Now the city looks at that and says , oh , that's a new rebuild. You know , that's all new wood. They don't realize that. We're just trying to put back a wall that either got knocked down or there was dry rotted. They see new wood and they you know , it's here's another issue that that that stops the project. So it's it's just been crazy trying to get permits because we the city put out , put out a website saying that to make it real easy for the homeowner to go on on site and and do everything online. Well , it's not easy for the homeowner. They know what they're doing and what they're looking at. But as us normal people , we're not in the field of construction and building and this and that. So we don't know the exact permits to get. And they don't help you. And we're still waiting. They keep asking for more and more stuff. And , um , you know , we just we just want to get her back in. She wants to go back home. And here it is a year later , and she's still roaming around from our house to my sister in law's house and and she just wants to get home. And that's like a lot of other people that are doing the same thing. They're all they're still paying mortgages on their houses , but having to rent somewhere or living with a family member somewhere , and everybody's displaced down there. I mean , it does that's , that's that's the big issue. All these families are displaced everywhere. Absolutely.
S1: Absolutely.
S4: They want to come get back to their homes and they can't because of one thing. It's it's either it's either with the permits or , you know , they don't they don't have the money to get in. They can't do anything. So a lot of these homes are vacant. I mean , we did a mock out yesterday at a house that's been vacant for the whole year. We're just doing a mock out just a year later. We're barely getting in there to tear it all up.
S1: That was Juan Chavez. He's a volunteer working in flood recovery with San Diego. Voluntary organizations active in disaster. Otherwise known as void. In an emailed statement to KPBS , the City Development Services Department said the city has processed 87 flood related permits so far and waived around $80,000 in permit review and inspection fees. They told KPBS they have assigned a point person now to help survivors navigate the bureaucracy of the permitting process. That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
