SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — When neighborhoods in southeast San Diego flooded, we were here talking to residents as they tried to figure out what to do next. In those early days, I met a man named Eric Aguilera, who owned a construction company and specialized in flood damage and restoration.
He let us come along to see how professionals asses the damage from flooding and get a better understanding of just how financially devastating this situation was.
All these months later, we're following through with him to find out how he was able to help multiple families eventually get back in their homes and how the floods inspired him to start his own nonprofit.
"100% of these units, 24 units, were all flooded. Water hit about 2 to 3 feet, but it was category four water, so we had to go about 2 feet above, so pretty much we had 4-foot flood cuts in every single unit," Aguilera explained.
Aguilera walked us through the work that had to be done to get people back into the ground floor apartments in a complex on Delta Street after the floods on Jan. 22 forced them out.
The job was no easy undertaking; Aguilera's staff at Bold Builds were joined by some extra hands.
"We worked with the Homework Program, so it's incarcerated individuals who actually came out and tore out a lot of the stuff. You see here — they took all the furniture out. It was a lot of work," he says.
I first met Aguilera just three days after the flood. I walked with him through houses on Beta Street, where virtually every home had been severely damaged by flood waters. I saw how people like him, who specialize in flood restoration, assess the damage.
WATCH: Aguilera recounts his experience first seeing the devastation from the flood, prompting him to jump into action.
A few weeks after that, Aguilera got a call from the owners of the building on Delta Street.
"As they heard about what we were doing on Beta Street, they reached out and said 'Do you have any at least volunteers who can come at least empty out the properties?' So we ended up coming out here," he says.
He says his bid for the job came in well under other companies, and he promised to do it in eight weeks.
Almost overnight, Aguilera's business grew from six employees to more than 40.
"We completed approximately 60 apartments and 15 houses just due to the Jan. 22 floods," he says. "Believe it or not, it was a blessing and a curse," he says. "It was super stressful — my sister ended up in the hospital over this. It was a difficult time, but it was a blessing for my family specializing in flood mitigation."
WATCH: Aguilera explains the balancing act between servicing the community while keeping his business afloat. He says at one point, bankruptcy was a real possibility for him.
"What is it like to know that you're able to get somebody back into their home and out of a hotel that's a temporary fix and starting to rebuild their life?" I asked.
"This was by far the most rewarding project I've ever done. Just hearing the stories... it was devastating, and that's what made me want to help," Aguilera says.
In the days and weeks after the floods, Aguilera started working with other volunteers to organize food donations and provide meals for families who had nothing and nowhere to go.
The work inspired him to start a nonprofit called RISE: Resilience Innovation Support for Everyone.
"Currently, where we are right now, we are still doing feedings for local families once a month. But long term goals is to do low-income to moderate-income housing and improve the situation there because housing has just been out of control," Aguilera says.
The nonprofit is still in its early stages, but Aguilera is hoping it will continue to grow.
"I think I just saw people in need, and did what I could to try and help," he says.
WATCH: Aguilera looks back on how the experience of the flood helped him grow, explaining how it changed his life. Moving forward, he explains what's next for his nonprofit.
