Jan. 22, 2024 was a day that reshaped the lives of many San Diegans.
“The water came down so hard that the storm channels – and there’s two of them couldn’t handle how much rain we were having, and the water went right over the storm channels. They weren’t deep enough and where the storm channels are located is right on the side of my house, so all of the water came straight down into our home and straight into our side yard, which caused massive sinkholes and massive devastation,” Homeowner Marci Kyle said.
Six months after the eventful day, flood victims are still recovering.
“Inside our home it smelled like a sewer, it was disgusting. There was mud everywhere and we have a dog, so we were like, where do we put our dog and we really had to sit down and think ok how do we tackle this?” Kyle said.
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Along with the damage inside the home Kyle said that there was damage outside of her home as well.
“I’ve had several contractors come out to give me a quote just to put in a retaining wall, not even to fill in where all the sinkholes are, just the retaining wall on two sides of my home would cost somewhere around $150,000,” Kyle said.
Birds? Red tape? Army Corps of Engineers? What’s to blame for historic San Diego flooding?
The Kyle family said they’re disappointed with the lack of help from the City of San Diego.
“I feel like now the more time that we get away from the flood and the media isn’t on the flood situation as much I feel like they’re just sweeping it under the rug,” Kyle said.
The Kyle family filed a claim with the City of San Diego, which was denied, according to Marci Kyle.
NBC 7 reached out to City of San Diego staff for more information.
Flood victims take legal action against City of San Diego
“This claim was denied, and a letter was sent to the claimant on 4/17/24,” City of San Diego staff said in a statement to NBC 7.
“Based on a review of the facts giving rise to your claim, the city is denying this claim,” the original letter to the Kyle family says.
In light of the developments, the Kyle family said they will be exploring new options.
“We had to seek legal representation because we felt like our cries are being unheard,” Kyle said.
While the Kyle family said they’re disappointed in how events unfolded so far, they will continue to press forward to be compensated for damage to their property.
“I love San Diego. This is our city. We represent the city – we love it here and we don’t want to live anywhere else, but we are really disappointed in the city’s response,” Kyle said.
