SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Wednesday marks 365 days since floodwaters rushed in and out of Southeastern San Diego. After massive and rapid rainfall overwhelmed the aging, outdated infrastructure meant to mitigate flooding, the deluge took everything from thousands of residents and killed at least five people.
In an exclusive, one-on-one interview, ABC 10News anchor Wale Aliyu asked Mayor Todd Gloria about how and why the Jan. 22, 2024, storm had such a reverberating impact on those neighborhoods, not only in the immediate aftermath but also in the weeks, months and year later.
Our team of journalists asked the following questions during this sit-down:
- What do you think is the perception of the city from the perspective of the flood victims?
- Is there anything the city could have done differently so that perception was not so negative?
- You and I both spoke with a lot of flood victims. One of the things they tell me when I'm out there is that, 'Yes, we did complain. We put it on the Get It Done app, and now the city will have to pay for it one way to another, even if it's lawsuits.' Wouldn't prevention have been better?
- Is there a coincidence the places with poor infrastructure happen to be Black and brown communities?
- There seems to be a tale of two cities. Had this flood happened in La Jolla, would the response have been the same?
- What's one thing the city would have done differently to prevent this from happening in the first place, and one thing you'd do differently in the response?
- What is the plan of action to help those who are still struggling a year later?
- Are there any lessons to be taught to the residents of LA from what we've gone through?
- If the same rain event was to happen again, would the city be ready to go?
You can watch the full interview, including Gloria's discussion on the city's plan to overhaul aging stormwater infrastructure, in the video player at the top of the page.
