S1: It's time for KPBS Midday Edition. On today's show , it's been two years since historic flooding washed away homes and businesses in the Choice Creek watershed. We'll check in on recovery. I'm Jade Hindman with conversations that keep you informed , inspired , and make you think. We'll talk about just how successful the city of San Diego has been at clearing stormwater systems to prevent flooding. Then hear how one survivor is fighting for recovery. Plus , a local business lost everything in the flooding two years ago , only to be hit with flooding again. That's ahead on midday edition. Two years ago , floods devastated San Diego neighborhoods in the Choice Creek watershed. Thousands of residents were forced out of their homes. Videos from that day show cars completely submerged. Some survivors escaped on kayaks while others gathered on their rooftops. My.
S2: My. The person next door is handicapped. Yeah. That's right.
S3: It's crazy. The whole barrio flooded , bro. Everyone's out safe , though. It looks like we got our neighbors up on the roof.
S1: Well , today , nearly 2000 people are now suing the city in more than 50 lawsuits. This hour , we're checking in on the status of flood survivors and the journey to recovery. We start with a conversation about San Diego's ongoing effort to fix its stormwater system , and an update on litigation. Joining me now is Mara Fox. She's the community's reporter with the San Diego Union-Tribune. Mara , welcome.
S4: Thanks for having me.
S1: Glad to have you here. So remind us what happened back in January 2024. How did the floods get so destructive ? Yeah.
S4: So this was one of the wettest days on record in San Diego history , since we've been keeping the records since , like , the 1850s. So across the , across the county , there was really extreme flooding and quite a bit of rain. And this really particularly impacted neighborhoods in southeastern San Diego , in underserved working class neighborhoods like South , South , Kress , Shell Town , Oak Park. Um , and so this was , as you heard in that clip , just a really devastating day. People were seeking refuge on their roofs. Water was rose as high as five feet into people's homes , pets were lost and cars were were swept down down the road. Um , and so , yes , it was a really historic , historic storm and historic flooding. Um , also , the San Diego's infrastructure is , uh , stormwater infrastructure is is old. And this storm really overwhelmed it. It really didn't have the capacity to deal with with such flooding. Um , so we we really it was really coupled with , uh , you know , it was a mix of two things. We had really bad a really bad storm , but also an aging infrastructure system that just did not have the ability to withstand such an event.
S1: Um , and tell me again how many people were displaced by those floods and how many are still recovering ? Yeah.
S4: So about a thousand people were displaced people , you know , some temporarily. They they moved out as their homes started to , to get rebuilt. Some moved away permanently to Mission Valley , Pacific beach. Just. Just to start. Start life anew. Um , and it's a little harder , you know , to to to calculate now how many people are still recovering because I think recovery is looking different for , for different people. Some people are back into their homes. Um , maybe they're finishing up those , those last bits of bits of updates to , to their homes or , or the ones that have moved away , they're recovering in , in other ways , just starting their , their lives again in a different place. Um , the financial recovery is , is long and ongoing and really a challenge for a lot of people. They are in significant debt because of this event , because the the construction costs to rebuild their homes or just to buy items that they lost , their beds , clothes , just basic needs that they have had to , um , had to buy again. Um , and then there's also the emotional recovery , which is something that we're definitely seeing two years on. Um , is , yes , this this was two years ago , but this was an incredibly traumatic event for people , and that is still ringing in their minds. And that's what's also going to be taking a long time to to truly , you know , recover from. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And heal from , you know , as you laid out earlier , San Diego clearly has a drainage problem , but it has been two years. So how is stormwater channel repair actually going ? Yeah.
S4: The city , for its part , is doing work. Um , I think when we talk about the city's backlog of stormwater infrastructure , um , it is it is extreme. It is a multibillion dollar backlog of of work that needs to be done. In a review of some of the city records that I was looking at. Last week , I saw that nearly half of the city's , um , waterway segments and , and infrastructure like basins hasn't been maintained since before 2011. That's like 50 , 15 plus years ago , right ? This is a long time ago. And it's unclear exactly like the urgency of each of those. You know , there's maybe some some storm channels that don't need to be updated as regularly. That information is unclear to us , but this is a very long term problem , a very expensive problem. So that's kind of laying the groundwork for it. In the last few years , the city has taken steps to to clear its its storm channels. It regularly has performed maintenance on channels in South Crest and Mountain View areas that were were flooded in 2024. Um , and you can look at the performance metrics. There are there are updates , you know , like 79% of channels are now operating as originally designed , and that's up from 71% last year. So we're seeing some movement. Um , but , you know , then there's also just other setbacks beyond the , the financial burden , which is incredibly significant. Um , you know , we've had a really rainy winter here in San Diego , so channels in South Crest and Mountain View haven't been cleared actually since October 2025. So months ago , because crews can't clear the storm channels if it's raining or if it's , you know , right after it's rained. So there's just certain limitations on on that that I can honestly say I see the city taking steps to address this , but there are these , um , these challenges that kind of are getting in its way. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , those challenges aside , I mean , help me understand this and how we got to this point because , I mean , people who live in these communities , just like others , pay taxes to maintain things like stormwater infrastructure.
S4: Um , so it could be a question of they don't have the money to allocate to this , or they're not choosing to allocate money towards stormwater. Um , I mean , I think they really don't , don't have the money to , to allocate necessarily. Um , we have a more than $6.5 billion backlog of infrastructure deficit across the city , like just generally around or nearly 4 billion of that is stormwater infrastructure. So the majority of that infrastructure , the infrastructure needs are related to stormwater. Um , so again , it's it is a huge need to , to , to undertake. Um , the city is also pointed to challenges with state , um , state laws , policies that kind of can slow down infrastructure maintenance and , and limit the , the speed which they can , can get those projects done. Um , but but ultimately this does come down to , to funding. And even the Stormwater Department says they just don't have funding to maintain storm channels. 100% of the year , they're kind of just triaging what they you know , what they can focus on and prioritize.
S1: Yeah , well , I asked Mayor Todd Gloria about the stormwater infrastructure. In an interview a couple of months after the floods , back in March of 2024. Take a listen to what he had to say.
S5: I'm hopeful , in terms of going back to lessons learned , that this is an opportunity for some of our state and federal regulators that makes it extremely difficult for cities like ours to clean our storm drains to make it easier for us. The storm drains are now clean. It's not because policy changes , because I issued an executive order declaring an emergency that has allowed us to clean those on a on a temporary basis. That is not the status quo. If anything we should learn from this experience is that we should not consider storm drains to be sensitive environmental habitat. Instead , we see it as a necessary piece of neighborhood infrastructure and not require us to take 5 or 6 years to get multiple regulatory approvals before we can clean the darn things. That's the state of play today , Jade. The city can only follow the rules that are imposed upon us.
S1: Well , so.
S4: So in October of 2024 , I expect , just a few months after , maybe you had this conversation with Mayor Gloria. Um , two assembly bills passed that are aimed to expedite storm channel maintenance and make project delays trying to remediate those , including skipping through environmental reviews that are necessary for some projects. Um , so there definitely has been movement on that front. I think one thing that kind of that a question that arises as I , as I hear this clip played back and as I just , you know , think to about these policies that that passed is I'd be curious to know how how the city has been taking advantage of these , these new policies and , you know , like , okay , they're making it easier to , to perform infrastructure maintenance. So to what extent is the city taking advantage of that ? Or is it , again , getting bogged down by financial constraints ? Yeah.
S1: Another trail to follow there. You know , in the 2024 floods hit neighborhoods like Oak Park , Grant Hill , South Crest and Shell Town especially hard. Tell me about those communities and how the floods are still affecting residents there two years later.
S4: Yeah , so these neighborhoods are unfortunately positioned in a in a kind of a tough place. They are either near or in or along the Choice Creek watershed. And some are right in areas that are in high , high , high risk areas for flooding. So so they already have this like just general challenge. And then of course , as we saw in 2024 , this was uh , this problem was , you know , exacerbated beyond people's , you know , belief. Um , but yeah , I mean , these areas are still they're prone to flooding. They are still flooding on January 1st , on New Year's Day this year. Um , they these neighborhoods flooded again and in some cases up to people's ankles. You know , there was one man in Oak Park who water was filling up his house and his son's room , and he's up at 6 a.m. trying to figure out how to how to get the water out or just try to stop it from coming in. Um , and in southwest on Beta Street , neighbors are going out there in their rain boots and their their cars are getting submerged again. And and I think that like it feels to people especially that have experienced this before , not even before 2024. There were there was flooding in 2018. Like it just feels like , oh my gosh , this is happening again. It does feel like a deja vu. Almost. Um , so , so yeah , these areas are particularly challenged because of their location. But I also think as we're , you know , discussing there are infrastructure challenges as well. Um , and yeah , just leads to a lot of fear for residents. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , we're going to hear more about that deja vu experience later this hour. But as I mentioned , you know , nearly 2000 people are suing the city in more than 50 lawsuits blaming the city for failing to maintain storm channels. And , you know , you've also reported that the city has filed more than 20 cross complaints against local residents and businesses.
S4: Um , but the big update on the litigation is that we actually have a trial date set for early October. And this is interesting to me. I mean , I think seeing this go to a trial will , obviously , this is a huge piece of complex litigation. But talking with one of the the flood survivors lawyers , Evan Walker , he was kind of giving me that context of , you know , most , most litigation goes to a settlement like people typically are settling. So the fact that this will go to , you know , sections of it likely are to go to a trial. Just show the show the complexity of it. You know , the the sheer number of of plaintiffs , like you mentioned , nearly 2000 people are suing the city and other public entities like State of California , the County of San Diego. But , you know , the plaintiffs , the defendants , it's really complex. So , um , so , yeah , it does appear that we will be seeing at least some sections of this litigation being played out in a trial later this year. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , you know , the city's stormwater department says they they have plans for some stormwater improvement projects.
S4: Big , big plans. Right. And yeah , right now we've got about 26 capital improvement projects that are either ongoing or planned for the future for the the Choi's Creek watershed. So definitely some some movement there that would that would really benefit these communities. Um , again , not to , you know , just keep repeating the , the , the financial difficulties. But really there are some elements of this that yeah , there's just not funding for those projects. Um , uh , one project though , I should note that that's on Beta Street , that would , uh , give some improvements to the Beta Street Channel , the Beta Street Alley , and the South Crest Trails Park that was really devastated in 2024. That project did get a $1 million , um , federal federal grant or not grant , but federal funding , um , in it recently in the last , um , last budget , part of a $4 million , um , uh , pot of money that the city has gotten from the federal government for stormwater infrastructure projects. That project is set to actually cost around $100 million. So $1 million is a small bit of money in the grand scheme. But we do see , um , you know , we see movement there and we know that the city has , um , applied for for federal and state grants and is waiting for , for approval from those. So there is movement , but these are big projects that are very expensive , so it will take time.
S1: All right. And I know we'll have a link to your full reporting@kpbs.org. I've been speaking with Mara Fox. She's the community's reporter with the San Diego Union Tribune. Mara , thank you so very much.
S4: Thank you.
S1: Still to come here , how one survivor is fighting for her own recovery while still fighting for her community. KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. This hour we're talking about flood recovery. Two years after devastating storms displaced communities , neighborhoods like Shell Town and Southwest were hit especially hard. Last year , we spoke with Jessica Calix , who lost her southwest home in the floods. She and her son eventually moved into an RV park where they still live. Now. Since then , Jessica's been fighting for accountability and safety for her neighbors. She joins me now. Welcome back to Midday Edition , Jessica. Hi.
S6: Hi. Thanks so much for having me.
S1: So glad to have you here. You know , last time we spoke with you , your son Tiago was turning nine. So happy early 10th birthday to him.
S6: Um , definitely got a little emotional this week because , of course , his birthday is tomorrow , the day of the flood. And so it's it's challenging because his birthday is always going to be tied to that memory. Um , so it got a little emotional , and I tried to just be very reassuring and , like , celebrate how far we've come. Um , and that's kind of the theme of how things feel in our community in general. Like we are all grieving and still in recovery , but also we're acknowledging like , well , look how far we've come and look at everything we've done despite the obstacles. Um , so definitely a little bit emotional. But also , you know , we have to celebrate our wins , right ? Yeah.
S1: We do. We do. And I know you've , um , you know , you've built your your own community there in the RV park where you're at.
S6: I love my new community. Um , but I also chose to live in South Crest , you know , in 2020 and fall in love with that community and the location and just everything about it. So I do miss it a lot , I still do. I actually go there , um , every week and I still visit neighbors and do different , you know , community activities. Um , so yeah , if there were the opportunity to move back to the neighborhood one day , I definitely would. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , and I know just earlier this month , you you jumped in to help because South Crest experienced flooding once again. Tell me about that day and what happened.
S6: So on January 1st , I wasn't actually there in person. Um , and I think that day really caught most of us off guard because we had gotten the warnings in November. And so we were all , like , preparing as much as we could and helping neighbors. And then we got the warnings again in December and , you know , again , trying to like scramble , prepare. And January 1st , I woke up to phone calls from a neighbor , you know , saying like , it's flooding. We're evacuating people. You know , can you get me in touch with. Because one of my neighbors from my complex , she's back there. And so she was like , can you get me in touch with her ? Because we helped them last flood , and we want to make sure that they're not , like , left , left out if something were to happen now. And so it was very scary. And it was actually , you know , it was very scary. But it was also very cool because we all were connected. So we're all connecting in our group chats and WhatsApp and , you know , calling each other , you know , calling people that we've never called before , but we got each other's numbers a year and a half ago. So , you know , everybody activated and , you know , neighbors didn't wait around. You know , residents that were there in the neighborhood , you know , they walked out and they clogged the drain , you know , with their own hands. And , you know , we can't sit around and wait , you know , because when these floods happen like this , everything is overwhelmed. 911 is overwhelmed , emergency services are overwhelmed. And so it was very cool as a community that no matter where we were and what we were doing , we all got activated and helped each other out to ensure that , um , things went well and it was kind of a wake up call because that moment , I think we all kind of realized , wow , like logistically , how would we go about doing this again , especially if it happens at night ? Um , so it was very , you know , horrible. But also it was really cool that basically we realized like , wow , look at this natural system. We all kind of just took action and made sure that , like , everybody was taken care of.
S1: And that's so important. I mean , the story you just told is a clear example of how the community has banded together , and it seems like a really strong network , too , that's been born out of necessity , as you say. Tell me more about that.
S6: Yes , it was born out of necessity , and that was pretty much from the actual flood itself. So like I mentioned earlier , like , you know , nobody was warned about the flood. So there was no previous evacuation , there was no preparation. Everybody was just really caught off guard. And , you know , the water rose so fast that nobody could drive out of the neighborhood. So from that moment , community had to step in to save themselves , save each other. You know , people were connecting with me. So then I was able to like continuously call 911 for like people I knew that , like , wouldn't be able to climb up to the roof to , you know , survive and ride out the flood waters. Um , so from there , it pretty much began. I mean , we all were connecting with the whole , you know , Southeast Disaster Response team from there. So we're , like , communicating with people at the Jackie Robinson YMCA. And , you know , there we are , like in the mud , like in our neighborhoods and just reporting back , like vital information. Um , and so it became this really incredible network. And it just has continued as the recovery has gone along. Um , even to present day. So helping each other with mental health support , uh , figuring out FEMA applications , you know , reconstruction applications , like all these different things. And unfortunately , a lot of that necessity came out of like , things not happening as fast as needed for the recovery. Um , and then even to the point where , like , you know , two weeks ago , we had to ask for a sand donation because , you know , there was no sand and no assistance and nothing available in our community , knowing that we have flooded multiple times in the past. There was no preparation for this rain season. And so again , out of necessity , the community came together. You know , flood survivors , secured sand donations , picked it up , bagged it up in the sandbags , and we hand delivered it to neighbors houses that , you know , wouldn't be able to protect their homes themselves because they're not physically able to. Um , so it's been definitely a wild journey. But also like , you know , it's been the worst and the best of , of life all at once. Um , we we feed each other. We take care of each other's kids. Um , so. Yeah.
S7: Yeah. Yeah.
S1:
S6: There's really no acknowledgement of the suffering and the tragedy that we experienced and basically have continued to experience And and that makes it very difficult because if no one's going to acknowledge , like , hey , this was really horrible and like , this is real and this happened , then there's not going to be very much support from anywhere. Um , it creates like a very harmful attitude towards us. And , you know , there's just a lack of like of sympathy and , and resources. You know , there's really been no advocacy for for anything. There's no programs. Um , you know , the housing program ended very early and excluded a lot of survivors. Um , you know , the rental assistance program was very , very small. I was one of the people excluded from it for really no reason at all. You know , I'm a displaced flood survivor with a kid , and there were , like , a tough luck. Um , and since all those programs back then , there's been nothing since then. I mean , even just to this day , like with these floods. Now , it took one phone call to secure sand to ensure that our most vulnerable survivors had a little bit of support to protect their homes , which , you know , they're still under reconstruction , are at risk of flooding again , but also that little bit of peace of mind and that little bit of support because the mental health aspect is so crucial. It's so important. Um , so yeah , unfortunately , from our elected officials , there's been nothing , you know , we not even sand for the sandbags. We always make jokes about it. But , you know , we laugh to cope. But but really that's it. They all they all all they've offered us in this past whole year is empty bags. Mm.
S7: Mm.
S1: That's unfortunate.
S6: Uh , it's probably very easy to forget about it if you weren't directly impacted or somebody , you know , because , you know , life is busy and , you know , things move very fast. And , um , free elected officials. They I mean , they act like they have forgotten. I mean , like I'm saying there's no there's no communications about it. It's just kind of the very , very , very bare minimum of , hey , prepare for the storm. You know , like six hours before it hits like a social media message. And , you know , we email them and call them all the time. So they haven't forgotten about us because we haven't let them , but we're not getting any response. Mhm.
S7: Mhm.
S1: Well you're involved in a lawsuit against the city and I know you can't talk about the details of that , but how , how are you feeling about the lawsuit so far.
S6: The lawsuit is very frustrating because the fact that we have to go through a lawsuit for support and for accountability and for justice and for positive change in our communities is is very disheartening because the lawsuit is very expensive. And I absolutely love , you know , our team of lawyers that are helping us out. They've been so phenomenal. And I appreciate that because , you know , we're trying to ensure that our selves and our community are able to recover with dignity. But it is very sad because this is the only way that we're going to get support and , and change , you know , flood survivors. No one has recovered 100%. Everybody has debt and all these different obstacles which create further obstacles for recovery , like the program that just came out recently for first time homebuyers. The majority of survivors don't qualify to buy a home. I mean , we can't if we have , you know , debt and like loss of income and all these different things that are impacting our recovery. So , um , yeah , it's definitely it's frustrating. Um , the fact that we have to work this hard and we have to relive the trauma , you know , we have to go through , and we have to document all the stuff we've lost and look at the videos and look at the pictures. And it's a very , very long , exhausting process. But we're going to do it because what we are doing it , you know , we're already in it. But , uh , what ? We're doing it because it's it's the right thing to do because , you know , for our children , you know , for the future , for the future of the community. Um , this is not the first time this flood has happened like this. And it can't happen again. And this is a systemic change that needs to happen countywide. Uh , this cannot be the precedent that's set for disasters , especially in the changing climate in the whole county. You know , people deserve to recover and heal and , uh , continue to , you know , rebuild their lives. And , you know , we were stable before the flood. And it put most of us into instability. Um , and at the bare minimum , we need to be closer , you know , to where we started out back then.
S1: Well , as you laid out , you know , being a survivor and then also having to fight for recovery and healing after that is exhausting , you know ? But but outside of this lawsuit , you continue to fight for yourself and your neighbors as well. Tell me about the ways you're doing that and what solidarity looks like to you.
S6: Um , continuing to fight. You know , there's not any real like , active , you know , asks or anything going on. It's not like a ton of advocacy going on , but just mostly like supporting our neighbors , uh , within the lawsuit , because we know not everybody is able to like , you know , really get their paperwork in. So we hosted an event , uh , we collaborated with , you know , one of the law firms , the one that I'm represented by. And we hosted a community event so that , you know , people could come and , you know , submit their documentation and , and feel supported and feel like , you know , because , again , it's a very difficult process. So that's been the biggest focus. Um , you know , ensuring whatever information comes out , you know , we get it out there , um , so that people can make decisions because there's different grants that are available for different things. But , you know , people need to understand like how that intersects with , like , the lawsuit and , you know , all these different things , because that's a really hard part about the whole recovery is you're having to make major life decisions with , like , sometimes limited information. And after a flood , you have a very limited attention span. So just trying to make sure that , you know , information is spread so people can make the best decisions and , you know , not have additional consequences , you know , due to all those things. Um , and then we've been doing food rescue. Um , some neighbors also do this as well on their own. And then we just started doing it like weekly , like just , you know , handing out free bagels to the community. And it's just like a small but like , we hope , a meaningful gesture of just being like , hey , like , here's a little bit of support , um , you know , let's , let's just share some bread and , like , hang out and , you know , um , trying to do , like , run clubs and , you know , art things like art gatherings that we can heal with art , like , kind of like these DIY , um , like supportive things. And then , um , we're trying to create like a really good , solid , um , like countywide communication network. So we're partnering with extreme weather survivors like a nationwide org , and they're actually helping us implement this , and we'll be connected with each other , but we'll also be connected with LA fire survivors and , you know , flood survivors from other places so that we can all , you know , share information with one another so we don't have to learn things the hard way and hopefully help each other , you know , reduce as much difficulty going forward. And I'm sorry , I forgot what the what the last question was.
S1: No , you answered that. Great. I mean , it's about building a sense of normalcy and support within the community. You know , we've got about a minute left , and I know when we spoke last year , I asked what you miss about southwest.
S6: Um , I mean , it's the same answer. You know , I miss , uh , I miss the people , the relationships , uh , the community , you know , the music , uh , I mean , even the fireworks and all the noises on New Year's Eve. I miss that , you know , um , I miss the smells of the food. You know , my neighbor bringing me a hot dish with just amazing cooks , you know , cooking , like , um. I miss all the kids being able to just meet up outside and just play. Um , yeah , I miss all those things. And you know , we can always rebuild and , you know , we always will all be connected. But , you know , that time we had there , it has passed and it will never be the same again. But we do our best to , you know , continue like that feeling and that love and that community , like wherever we go and in back in South Crest when we all meet up there. Yeah.
S7: Yeah. Oh , wow.
S1: Well , I wish you the best in your recovery. I've been speaking with Jessica Calix. She's a survivor of San Diego's 2024 floods. Jessica , thank you so much. And take care of yourself. Thanks.
S6: Thanks. You too.
S1: Up next , a local flower shop rebuilt everything after the flooding two years ago , only to be hit with more flooding recently. Hear that story when KPBS Midday Edition returns. Welcome back to KPBS Midday edition , I'm Jade Hindman. We continue our conversation about the historic flooding in San Diego two years ago and recovery since then. Among many , many homes , businesses were flooded , too. And for one , the road to reopening hasn't been easy. Mission Valley flower shop native poppy rebuilt and reopened. Then earlier this month came floodwaters all over again. Joining me now is Meg Blanchard. She's the owner of native Poppy. Meg , welcome. Hi.
S8: Hi. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
S1: Thanks for taking the time. Um , I'm I'm wondering if you can take me back to that day. January 22nd , 2024. When your shop was first flooded.
S8: Um , so two years ago. Um , almost two years ago. Exactly. Uh , it was raining in San Diego , raining pretty hard. And my business partner , Natalie lives , um , very close to that location. And she was out with her husband , who's our operations manager and their one year old daughter. And they said , you know , let's just swing by the studio and make sure everything's okay. Because at that point , we'd been there about three years , and we had had , you know , when it rained , maybe a little water come in through the door here or there , but no issues. And so we had no idea the potential damage that could have happened. But they said , let's just make sure everything's okay. And they got there and the parking lot was basically a swimming pool. And they drove to the back , which is where our unit is. And our front door of that location is a glass door. And she said it looked like an aquarium and that it just had about three and a half , four feet of water floating with all of our merch and gifts and flowers and vases floating in it like fish. So she opened the door. This river rushes out and then walked in and just absolutely shocked and devastated by the damage. We had about four feet of water throughout our 1500 square foot studio and it flooded. You know , two out of our three delivery vehicles that were parked inside. We lost tons and tons and tons of gift inventory , supplies , furniture , electronics. Um , and it was just it was I mean , we were shocked , truly shocked , had no idea that it could be anything like that. And I live in Encinitas and she called me. She FaceTimed me and I , we both were just crying on the phone , and I just got in my car and drove down there and and that's sort of where the journey began.
S7: Well , well.
S1: You know , I always ask about , you know , the recovery of , of the building and , and such , but I'm wondering how your emotional recovery has been like since then. Yeah.
S8: Yeah. You know , at the time we were like I said , we were really shocked and devastated and just had this feeling of like , how will we come back from this ? Can we come back from this ? Um , just it's running a small business. San Diego is is challenging under the best of circumstances. When something happens like that , you just really have to think. We did think , you know , like , can we continue on ? Do we want to continue on ? We were so we both have young kids and it's just it's so taxing at times , you know. And so we it was really hard. But our community really rallied around us. And that was amazing. And a huge reason , if not the main reason , how and why we made it through.
S1: Yeah , because.
S8: Um , no funding was released from the state or obviously nationally. And then there were small grants that San Diego issued. But we they were for companies of eight or less employees , and we are a team of about 20 , which to us still feels like a , you know , bigger than we were , but still a very small , intimate company. But we were , um , too large to apply for any sort of small business grants that the city was giving. So no , there was no funding , no insurance , nothing.
S1: So , wow. I mean , you do then with the help of the community and all eventually rebuild the shop. But then fast forward to this month , New Year's Day 2026. Your shop floods again. What happened ? Yes.
S8: Yeah. So two years ago in 2024 , we it took us about three weeks to clean , assess and make it functional for our team. Right on the forefront of Valentine's Day week and we were able to operate. And then this year. Since then , you know , we we have our protocols. We do everything we can to protect against the flooding. Um , we've tried to move several times and we just haven't been able to move. But , um , this year , on New Year's Day , January 1st , 2026 , early in the morning , I'm still in my pajamas and making pancakes with my kids , and I get a text from my business partner and she says , there's water in the studio. And I said , I look at it , and then there's a screenshot of the camera footage , and you can see there's a little bit of water. And I'm like , oh , man. So I call her and we're on speakerphone. And simultaneously , again , she's asking her husband to go down there and check it out. And while we're on the phone together , it goes from it was true flash flood. It goes from about three inches of water to about three feet of water in seconds. And she , you know , screams and and I'm and I'm just we're both I think I was truly in shock. At that point , I kept thinking , how ? How is this happening again , you know ? Um , and so unfortunately. But fortunately , our , um , we've been through this before , and we have an incredible team who helped us systemize the recovery from the last flood. And we had a plan in place , and we jumped into action really quickly. Um , when our , my operations manager , who is my business partners husband , got down there , sure enough , there was water in the same thing. The parking lots of pool , the you know , our studio is an aquarium , but he was able to get there basically right after it happened , open the door and release a lot of the water. And so the damage was less this time. Um , slightly less. And like I said , we've just been through it before , so we were able to jump in action and mitigate a lot of the damage.
S1:
S8: Um , as soon as we could so that it's , you know , we we transferred some of the operations to our South Park location , and that was an amazing. You know , I'm so grateful that we had that opportunity to patch. But it's not sustainable for the team there , for the space there and everything. So we really had to get the Mission Valley location open again , enough for our team to operate from it. And so we have been able to do so for the past week or two. Um , and then our goal right now is to be open again to the public by February 1st would be ideal , but at a bare minimum , it's , um , Tuesday the 10th because that kicks off Valentine's Day week again for us. And it's our biggest week of the year , so we truly can't afford to not be open by then. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , you know , this is this the second time your business was flooded in the span of less than two years ? What changes would you like to see to prevent this from happening again ? Yeah.
S8: Um , you know , I grew up in San Diego. I grew up in Encinitas , and I remember it raining , and I remember that area flooding even then , 20 years ago. Um , but it's I what my ask would be , would be for the city to. If they can't fix it. To put more safeguards in place to at least reduce the amount of damage , the flooding that's happening both to businesses and residences in that area is just it's catastrophic. And I know that there are , you know , every administration is bound by finances and bandwidth in some capacity. But I just , I , I believe that if San Diego put some time , energy resources behind it , that , ah , the community would rally around , um , would rally around the officials to do so , to do something and to just like I said , if we can't , if it can't be fixed , I know it could be better. I believe it could be better. Yeah.
S1: Yeah.
S8: You know , I , um , the first time around , we did apply for , like I said , grants , most of which we were eligible for. We did reach out to our city officials. We , um , we did everything we could to to ask for help and everything. And I know there were so many people needing help , but from what ? From the response we got then and now , it was a lot of people who didn't get help. You know , so it feels it feels a little defeating. Um , I love San Diego. Like I said , I'm from here. I think it's one of the greatest cities in the world. But again , I just think it. I think it could be better. Um , and I think that , you know , being in a place where disasters don't happen as often , it makes sense why it doesn't get a lot of attention. But then when they do , it can be really debilitating to people.
S1: Yeah , well , I mean , all the best to you ahead of the Valentine's Day season. I know you'll be back up and running. I've been speaking with Meg Blunt. She's the co-owner of Mission Valley flower shop native Poppy. Meg , thank you so very much.
S8: Thank you. Jade , I really appreciate it.
S1: That's our show for today.
S9: I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
