SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Jose Garcia doesn't have to look far for a reminder of how devastating the January 22 flood was to his neighborhood. The house next door to his on 42nd Street hasn't been touched since the water overtook it and nearly every other home on the block.
"It's tough," he told ABC 10News Anchor Jared Aarons. "I think it took a couple days to really, really let it set in what actually happened."
Garcia's home backs up to the storm drain channel that overflowed as torrential rain pummeled San Diego.
On January 24th, Aarons met him outside his home while city trucks lined up to haul away anything people wanted to drag to the curb.
"I'm trying to disconnect myself from all of my belongings," Garcia said on that day. "Some of the stuff I'm seeing go is stuff that I've had for years."
Garcia lost nearly everything in the flood, including a brand new bed, a newly remodeled kitchen, and his son's new Christmas toys. Meanwhile, like many other flood victims, the walls and floors of his home were destroyed.
As part of ABC 10News commitment to follow through, even after others have moved on, Aarons went back to Garcia's home to see how his recovery is going.
"I feel like we got a fresh start," Garcia told Aarons in early September.
Garcia and his family were fortunate. Their mortgage required flood insurance. He also got a little bit of help from FEMA and a loan from the SBA. Still, he says dealing with insurance companies and waiting for checks to clear became a constant hassle.
But, going through this ordeal also forced Garcia to focus on what's most important - his family and community.
As construction crews worked on his house, friends and family rallied to help. He says they'd come over with food, clean up equipment, or whatever else he needed. A cousin even rented him a trailer so he and his family could live on their property while it was being repaired.
Staying so close let Garcia keep an eye on the progress. He told Aarons that made things easier, to see a finish line approaching.
"The demo progress goes pretty quick and we saw that," Garcia said.
Garcia and his family moved back into their home in May. But that wasn't the end. He says nearly every weekend he would dedicate one day to clean up the back yard or whatever else needs to be done. People are still coming by to help.
"You truly realize who your friends are, your family is, and how important they are because they were there helping us," he said.
Still, while he's home and life is slowly returning to normal, the neighborhood hasn't recovered quite as fast.
Several homes are still empty. Some, like his neighbor's, are untouched since the flood. And, as an ice cream truck rolls through the neighborhood without stopping, he mentioned to Jared that most of the families with kids have moved away.
"(There were) 5 kids living in this house, two kids in that house, six kids here, two kids there," he says while pointing around the neighborhood. "We don't have any more. They had to move out. It's a completely different sight now."
As for his son's toys, Garcia said they've been able to replace a few things. His son Julisas started asking for new LEGO sets as soon as the water receded.
"We told him, 'We don’t have much room right now, you have to wait until we get back into the house. Once you get in your room, then you can start buying more LEGOs.' And I swear, the first day we were back inside, he said, 'Dad, can we buy legos?'"
Garcia also told Jared he sees signs of hope, and discovered strength he never knew he had.
"I'm stronger than I think. I mean, we all are. As human beings, we can overcome quite a bit ... My wife, she's an amazing person. My son is an amazing person. I feel like we're a strong family and that helped us get through it too," he said.
