Flooding makes fourth wettest day in San Diego: Photos

Heavy downpours Monday caused flooded roadways, car wrecks and water rescues across San Diego County, California. The worst of the storm started in the morning, prompting the state to issue travel warnings across the county. San Diego officials urged residents to stay at home unless travel was absolutely necessary.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he had declared a state of emergency in the city due to the extreme rainfall and flash flooding. Gloria advised residents to, "never attempt to travel on flooded roads."

Video shows Interstate 5 in downtown San Diego flooded as a driver drove through the high water level.

The National Weather Service reposted the video on their page on X issuing a warning for the dangers of driving through flooded roads.

Photos and a video recorded by a teacher from Village Elementary School showed the water levels in the hallways and classrooms.

A flash flood warning was in effect Monday for parts of North County including; Oceanside, Carlsbad, Vista and Solana Beach. The warning was extended to include Chula Vista, San Diego and El Cajon until 12:45 p.m., the weather service said.

The San Diego Airport received 2.73 inches on rain just before midnight on Monday. According to the weather service, Jan. 22, 2024, was the fourth wettest day in the area.

The record for the wettest day was set nearly 170 years ago, on Dec. 02, 1854, with 3.34 inches of rain reported.

An Encanto resident video taped the flood waters as it swept cars away.

The resident, who spoke in Spanish, said, "Look at the cars my God, my God!"

San Diego firefighters and lifeguards conducted 24 rescues from the San Diego and Tijuana rivers and hundreds more from homes and cars.

The organizations have reported no fatalities from the flooding thus far, according to a post from the San Diego Fire Department on X.