Encinitas

Encinitas Families Displaced After Storm Drain Floods Homes

Several families living on Nardo Road aren't able to stay in their homes after a city storm drain spills water into their homes.

NBCUniversal, Inc.

At a time when staying home is the safest place to be, several Encinitas families are stuck finding a new place to live.

On Friday afternoon, a storm drain on Nardo Road and Santa Fe Drive overflowed, sending hundreds of gallons of water pouring into people's homes.

Firefighter Matthew Drabinski's home is destroyed as a result.

"All of a sudden it just started coming down like a river," described Drabinski.

Despite the damages to his home, he considers himself to be one of the lucky ones.

"We are staying with my parents nearby," Drabinski told NBC 7, add it's not the most ideal situation.

His father is a transplant patient and Drabinski is in contact with the public as part of his job.

Drabinski's neighbor Dayna Vogt, also has damage in her home.

When she spoke to NBC 7, she was on day four of cleanups.

Vogt, like most of her neighbors, don't have flood insurance. Their homeowner's insurance only covers flooding caused by water that comes from inside the home, like a pipe bursting.

Vogt is paying for her repairs out of pocket and is stressing out about how she will pay for housing too.

The water NBC 7 saw inside several of the homes was sewage water mixed with rainwater. The water inside some of the homes got so high it filled tubs.

Both Drabinski and Vogt are looking to the City of Encinitas to file a claim for damages. However, when Drabinski contacted them, someone with the city told him his claim would be denied because what happened was an act of God.

In a statement to NBC 7, the City of Encinitas said, "There were significant rains last week that caused flooding in various parts of the City. The runoff exceeded the capacity of our storm drains. It was a most unfortunate act of nature".

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