A San Diego woman is now left to pick up the pieces after flooding washed out her business and home.
“This was my tattoo shop, which I’ve had since 1984, and we also live in the very back,” Judy Parker said.
Parker is the owner of Pacific Tattoo in San Diego. Her shop is filled with her artwork of sea life. It’s also filled with treasures that speak of her artistic talent.
“This is my hall of fame right here,” she said, as she showed NBC 7 her wall of awards.
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Parker is among hundreds of San Diegans who were affected by the Jan. 22 flooding.
“The city one day came and plugged up all the storm drains, and we were like, 'Why did you do that?' And they said, 'It’s our job. We’re just doing what we’re told.' Then, we got a notice saying that we were in a flood zone,” Parker said.
When Parker saw the water level rising, she rolled up towels and put them on her front and back doors to keep the water from coming into her home and business.
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“I looked out the windows, and it was coming up and coming up, and I was freaking out, and then the water started coming in,” Parker said. “The whole thing had a foot of water all the way through it."
The flooding damaged her tattoo equipment, appliances and walls.
“My business is done. I don’t know how I can recover that. I’m trying to recover the building right now. We haven’t even gotten all our stuff out,” Parker said.
The experience has been hard to put into words for Parker.
“I cannot tell you how I’m feeling, sorry. It’s up and down. I can laugh. I can laugh,” Parker said.
She and her husband are trying to make their place habitable again, but she said the process takes a lot of time, work and money.
“We have to pay people to make it safe to live here again, and I’m scared to death of the rain. From now on, I’m scared to death of the rain. My husband wants to move, but we can’t afford it,” Parker said.
She is staying optimistic to make it through.
“I wasn’t panicky as much, then I was just grieving, but my cats are OK. We're OK," Parker said.
For now, Parker said she’s working from one of her friend’s shop: Holy Turtle in Pacific Beach.
