SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The San Diego River is prone to flooding, especially during conditions like Thursday's expected storm. Hundreds of unhoused people living along the riverbed are especially vulnerable to rising waters. It was a race against time on Wednesday to ensure everybody knows it.
Picket signs and volunteers may be the difference between staying above or below the water for the roughly 300 people living on the San Diego Riverbed.
"Putting up signage, handing out ponchos, care kits and clean socks as a way to let people know the river is gonna flood this weekend," said Rachel Downing, Program Manager for the San Diego River Park Foundation.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the water in the river was about 3-feet deep. The National Weather Service says it may shoot up to 10-feet tall on Thursday.
Last week's storm didn't help.
"Due to the rain that we saw last week, the ground is already really, really wet. We already have more water in the river than we did a week and a half ago," said Downing. "So that means the river is gonna rise a lot faster."
For many people, the physical risk of the water is just the beginning.
"Everything they have with them is all their worldly possessions," said Downing. "So once you lose them, getting them back is incredibly hard. That makes it so much harder to get into services, get into housing, get vouchers and things like that. Stuff to get them out of the situations they're currently in."
The San Diego River Park Foundation is always looking for donations and volunteers to help people along the river. If you want to learn more, visit their website.
