Where San Diego floods

January 22, 2024

The storm came in fast on a Monday morning. Chollas Creek's channel filled and overflowed, and several feet of water moved through Southcrest and Shelltown (KPBS). NBC 7 reported that the storm displaced more than 1,200 people. A year later, some families were still rebuilding.

In the federal flood insurance record, ZIP 92113, which covers Logan Heights and Southcrest, has 125 claims on record, 102 of them since 2015. Claims only count homes that had a flood policy, so the count understates the damage.

Flood insurance claims per year, San Diego County

Where the claims are

Federal flood insurance has recorded 2,442 claims in San Diego County, $47.8 million paid. They cluster in three kinds of places:

• Low coastal ground: Del Mar and the beach ZIPs from Pacific Beach to Ocean Beach; coastal Oceanside; Coronado.
• Creek and river corridors: Chollas Creek in southeastern San Diego, the San Diego River through Mission Valley, the San Luis Rey in Oceanside.
• Older neighborhoods near the bay: National City and Logan Heights.

56% of paid claims were on properties rated outside the high-risk flood zones. Every ZIP code, sortable.

Before the next big storm

• Find your flood zone on FEMA's map, and ask your agent about flood coverage either way. A new federal policy usually takes 30 days to start.
• Move valuables and papers off the floor in a garage or a ground-floor room.
• Know how to shut off power at the panel, and keep it reachable from a dry spot.
• Photograph your rooms now, for a contents claim later.

After flood water gets in

Flood water carries sewage and street runoff, so porous materials it touched usually have to go. Dry the structure within 24 to 48 hours if you can. Flood and sewage cleanup.