For Tony Lopez of Southcrest, Jan. 22 will forever be engraved in his mind as the day he lost a huge part of his life.
In a matter of minutes, an unusual torrent of rain and flash flooding had hit San Diego, swamping his entire neighborhood.
Lopez felt like he had no choice but to rush home from work to check on his family and sick mother.
“When I was walking over here, [the flooding on the street was] like maybe around 4 feet,” Lopez said.
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As he walked inside, he witnessed a harrowing sight. His elderly mother lying lifeless on the couch and surrounded by water.
“In my mind was only to save my mom, save the body of my mom,” Lopez said.
With the water rising quickly, he says he didn’t have much time to think.
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“So after I took my mother-in-law and my wife, and I put them in a safe place, the second thing was to take my mom from here,” Lopez said.
He carried her on an air mattress to a neighbor’s home with lower water levels.
“Imagine how stressful it was,” Lopez said. “I took my mom over there and left her over there. It was raining a lot.”
Lopez believes his mother, who was recently released from the hospital, may still be alive if it weren't for the chaos of that day.
“That day she got scared because I think she heard people screaming,” Lopez said.
Now, Lopez and his family are trying to put their lives, and their home, back together while fearing future flooding.
“Whenever it rains, we are going to be thinking that the flood is going to happen again,” Lopez said.
It's an added hardship to a family already dealing with so much.
