A West Mission Bay Drive water main break left many residents scrambling to save their homes amid severe, quick flooding.
"The whole thing just blew up!" said Paul Silva. "The whole water main blew. There were rocks flying everywhere."
At about 5:30 p.m. Monday, a 12-inch main broke in the 3800 block of Bayside Walk, according to the city Water Department's Arian Collins.
A gushing geyser, reaching about 25-feet in the air, quickly had residents rushing to protect their property from the flooding water.
Emily Fraser was forced to leave her home. Like most of the affected buildings, her storage is on the ground floor.
"One of the garages is filled with my owner's stuff, so that's probably all done, and our bikes are in the other garage; that's probably all done too," said Fraser.
The valve controlling the main was underwater, so it took crews a couple hours to turn the water off. City water crews used underground pipe maps to locate the valves, but closing off the main required a lot of trial and error.
By the time it was shot off, the water was three feet deep in some areas.
Gushing geyser has Mission Bay residents scrambling to save their homes #NBC7 pic.twitter.com/j31FltiAu7
— Dave Summers (@DaveSummersNBC7) March 1, 2016
"I have lupus, and I am having a flare-up, so I really want to be in my bed, not in the freezing cold," said Fraser.
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department sent in two companies to help drain homes. The flooding closed the northbound lane of West Mission Boulevard for about six blocks.
Silva is concerned the flooding could mean trouble for his home's foundation.
"We're on a sand foundation so the water is eroding the sand and pulling it all away. As the sand goes the house beginning to tilt," he said.
Crews estimated only a few customers would remain without water overnight. Service was expected to be restored by 6 a.m. Tuesday. Crews were still at the scene making repairs early Tuesday morning.
Collins said there was some repair work taking place nearby, but crews are not sure how or if it is related to the water main break.
By 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, Collins confirmed the broken water main had been replaced and Bayside Walk had been reopened.
Collins said an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the water main break. At this point, the extent of the damage from flooding is unknown. Collins said it will be up to property owners to file claims.
