![\"On](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769264050_515_SUT-L-flood-update-8.jpg\")
Water flows down Chollas Creek near National Avenue after the creek flooded on Jan. 22, 2024. (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\nOn an altar at Carlos Ramirez\u2019s home in southeastern San Diego, a laminated photo of his mother who passed away years ago rests atop a candle, surrounded by idols of Jesus Christ, angels and the Virgin Mary.<\/p>\n
Ramirez is in awe of the photo. Two years ago, flood waters swept through his Shelltown neighborhood and others nearby \u2014 devastating entire blocks and displacing more than a thousand residents. The water in his yard was 7 feet high, and the altar was submerged.<\/p>\n
But when the flood waters receded and he returned to his home, he saw that the photo had not moved from its place.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn\u2019t taken,\u201d Ramirez, 72, said tearfully in Spanish on Thursday. \u201cIt was a miracle\u2026 my mother was saved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Water flows down Chollas Creek near National Avenue after the creek flooded on Jan. 22, 2024. (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Remembering moments of hope from the destruction and honoring the resilience of the community was a defining aspect of the two year anniversary of the flooding on Jan. 22, 2024.<\/p>\n
Residents joined together in Shelltown on Thursday for commemorative events, including a morning blessing from Father Brad Mills from Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish and an evening neighborhood gathering to recognize the community and how far it\u2019s come.<\/p>\n
The memory of the floods is still fresh in residents\u2019 minds, but many want to focus on the community\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe continue to talk about what happened two years ago, and it\u2019s very traumatic,\u201d said Patricia Cruz, who lives on Beta Street in Southcrest. \u201cBut as a whole community we should be able to find healing and move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jan. 22, 2024, was one of the wettest days on record in San Diego. Waterways such as Chollas Creek overflowed into neighborhoods. Working-class communities in southeastern San Diego, including Shelltown, Southcrest and Mountainview, were some of the hardest hit, but other areas were also impacted, including National City and Spring Valley. At least five people died.<\/p>\n
Close to 2,000 people are suing the city in more than 50 lawsuits, saying the city\u2019s failure to maintain its storm channels led to the catastrophic flooding.<\/p>\n
![\"On](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/sut-l-flood-anniversary-004.jpg\")
Carlos Ramirez and his daughter, Cristal Ramirez, 29 talk about how high the water was outside their home on Yama Street, where the water rose as high as 7 ft during the flood in January 2024. (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Ramirez\u2019s home sits at a low point on Yama Street, near an embankment alongside Interstate 5. He lives with his wife, and his three daughters also have homes on the property.<\/p>\n
He says about 15 cars washed down the street and piled up in front of his property on the day of the floods.<\/p>\n
His youngest daughter, the family\u2019s strongest swimmer, rescued several neighbors who were trapped in their homes, after bringing her own daughter to safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe chose to do the better thing, the braver thing,\u201d said Ramirez\u2019s other daughter, Cristal, of her sister\u2019s efforts.<\/p>\n
Residents in southeastern San Diego say the community was connected before the floods. But the community has come together to support one another in new ways over the last two years.<\/p>\n
Shelltown resident Beba Zarate hosts craft nights in her home, where neighbors can come together to paint or crochet and share how they\u2019re feeling. She and another flood survivor also hold a weekly bagel distribution in Southcrest for any families that need it, flood victims or otherwise.<\/p>\n
![\"Aztec](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/sut-l-flood-anniversary-evening-011.jpg\")
Aztec dancers perform on Osborn Street for residents of the Southcrest Community on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 in San Diego, CA. (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
Local nonprofits, like the Harvey Family Foundation \u2014 which helped residents rebuild nearly 80 homes \u2014 have supported the recovery efforts as well.<\/p>\n
A group called Shelltown Resilience, of which Zarate and Cruz are members, has also emerged in the wake of the floods, hosting park cleanups and toy distributions. Its goal is to serve as a voice to help shape what the rebuilt community looks like.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe organize ourselves to help the community,\u201d Zarate said.\u00a0\u201cIf we do not stand and advocate for our community, who is going to do it?\u201d<\/p>\n
The city has a decades-long backlog of storm channel infrastructure maintenance and an outdated stormwater system that city officials warned<\/a> before the 2024 floods could lead to catastrophic flooding. It has a nearly $4 billion deficit<\/a> to address stormwater infrastructure needs.<\/p>\n In the last two years, the city has performed more regular maintenance<\/a> on channel segments impacted by the 2024 floods, but recent city records<\/a> show that nearly half of its channel segments and infrastructure haven\u2019t been maintained in at least 15 years.<\/p>\n Following the 2024 floods, the city\u2019s stormwater department says it cleared roughly 18 miles of channels \u2014 including 12 miles of channels in the Chollas Creek watershed.<\/p>\n And the city has stormwater capital improvement projects in the works, including one on Beta Street in Southcrest that recently received $1 million in federal funding \u2014 part of $4 million the city got from the federal government for critical stormwater infrastructure projects. Other capital improvement projects are sorely underfunded.<\/p>\n![\"On](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/sut-l-flood-anniversary-evening-014.jpg\")
On Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026 in San Diego, flood survivors, Carlos Ramirez and his daughter, Maria Martinez of Southcrest, enjoyed a dinner meal during the block party. (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n
![\"On](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/sut-l-flood-anniversary-006.jpg\")
Residents released ballots marking their 2nd anniversary of the 2024 flood on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (Nelvin C. Cepeda \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n