The Southcrest neighborhood of San Diego was one of the hardest by last week's storm. Along Beta Street, the water rose nearly up to the rooves of homes. On that day Samuel Esquivel got a phone call from his mother, telling him that his grandma, Teresa Martinez, was trapped inside her swiftly flooding home.
"My grandma called, my mom called me crying, they're saying that she couldn't get out. Came over here, I get stopped halfway here to save someone else," said Esquivel.
That's when he jumped into action. Esquivel hopped on one of his jet skis and took off for his grandma's house.
"I see four firefighters and my uncle trying to open up the door. They couldn't do that, so I ended up hopping off the jet ski trying to open the window, well we all did, and got my grandma," said Esquivel.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Help against flooding
Martinez has lived in her home since 1995. In the driveway now sits piles of debris, taken from what's left inside of the home. Years worth of memories, Martinez said, that are all gone.
"Material things you can replace. A life, you can't," said Martinez.
In the aftermath of the storm, Southcrest neighbors have come together to help each other out. Neighbors cleared trash, moved furniture, and swept out water from the front of homes.
Martinez said she is now living her daughter, and might end up selling the family home. Although letting go will be painful, she told NBC 7 that her faith is keeping her strong.
