Flash Flood — San Diego, California

2024-01-22 · near (see)san Diego Gille, San Diego, California

Event narrative

Fox5 in San Diego reported that two people, 46 year old female and 48 year old male, were found deceased, drowning in a creek in Santee, near the intersection of Prospect Avenue and Cuyamaca Road. Exactly how and when the deceased were swept into the creek is unknown.

Wider weather episode

Historic flooding occurred on January 22nd. Heavy rainfall occurred between 8 am and noon across western San Diego county. The heaviest rainfall occurred between 9 am and 11 am in the east side of the city of San Diego in Encanto and Lemon Grove to Spring Valley. Rainfall rates were observed at 1.5 to 2.5 inches in 60 minutes and resulted in 1000 year return intervals. Over 200 water rescues at homes, streets and in water channels were performed by San Diego Fire and Rescue. FEMA found 1000 homes damaged in the following weeks and 600 were declared major damage resulting in up to 31 million in damage claims and displaced residents, including 1200 households, in temporary shelters for several months. San Diego County EOC was activated on January 22 and remained activated at a low level into May 2024. The areas flooded the most were Mountain View, Encanto, Valencia Park, Shelltown, Southcrest, and Lincoln Park.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (32.8320, -116.9824)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1157458. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.