Cars Surf Down the Street in San Diego During 'Thousand-Year Storm' (Video)
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A state of emergency was declared in San Diego on Monday.
Like Ventura to the north, the emergency protocol was issued due to dangerous weather conditions, torrential downpour, and millions of dollars in damage. It was so bad that officials were calling it a “thousand-year storm.”
Hundreds of rescues. Cars surfing down flooded roadways. Bedlam in the streets.
"I’m heartbroken by the losses I saw this morning," San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said in a news conference. "This is very real. What we have is a large number of San Diegans that are going to be in recovery mode – not hours or days, but measured in weeks or months."
Monday was the wettest January day ever recorded; it was also the fourth wettest day of any calendar year.
Mayor Gloria continued:
"Nobody anticipated the severity of this storm. We knew it was going to rain. Our storm crews were doing usual storm preps like cleaning out storm drains. But the amount of water we saw yesterday would’ve overwhelmed any city drainage system.
"This was unprecedented. None of us alive have seen anything quite like it."
Elsewhere in San Diego County, and closer to the coast, it’s not only been rain that’s caused damage this winter, but also massive waves pounding the shore, fueled by El Niño.
Coastal houses were inundated by rogue waves and king tides, an iconic seal refuge in La Jolla was battered by swell, and certain surf spots saw the biggest waves in 10-plus years.
It’s been a wet and wild season so far in California’s southernmost municipality...and it’s not over yet. The strong, historic El Niño system is still active.
Stay classy – and, more importantly, safe – San Diego.
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