SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Seven-foot tides are expected to hit Mission Beach Tuesday evening.
Residents say tidal flooding is happening much more often, and some in Mission Beach are already preparing for flooding with sandbags near their homes.
"It seems to be happening more and more often," Walden Keyes, a long-time Mission Beach resident and business owner, said.
The concern goes beyond wet streets. Avoiding a flooded underground parking garage is one thing, but residents are also worried about structural damage they cannot see.
"And I think it's causing a lot of other issues too, you know, because it is creating some damage that you are not able to see, which is like a mold issue for some of the foundation of these homes," Keyes said.
Keyes lives on the third story of a residential building in the area. He says the garage under his house has flooded, but his apartment has always stayed safe.
He wants the City of San Diego to use more powerful pumps and put up sand berms. The city does deploy sand berms — but only in the winter. The City of San Diego also uses pumps in the event of flooding to keep it out of the streets near the beach.
When ABC 10News visted the flooding site, a pump was ready with high sandbags in front of the underground garage that had previously flooded.
The city did not respond to a request for comment about how it is preparing for this round of high tides or for the coming winter. Free empty sandbags are available today at several locations in San Diego.
"It was like — it's like a canal, it almost looks like Venice, you know?" Keyes said about the last time it flooded in Mission Beach.
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