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By Kirsten Andelman
Photo, left: flooded home of the Ford family along Chollas Creek
February 1, 2023 (Spring Valley)-- When 86-year old Bienvenida Ford felt the water on her feet January 22, all she could do was yell for her sleeping daughter, Debbie, who jumped up and called 911. But by then, the waters rushing in from the swollen Chollas Creek were already up to the women’s calves.
Within 20 minutes, the water in their National Avenue living room was up to Bienvenida’s ribs. In the nick of time, two rescue workers swam inside and dragged her by her armpits to higher ground. Meanwhile, Debbie Ford, age 50, was fending for herself, half paddling, half floating out the front door and towards higher ground. Hundreds of yards away she could see their freezer – recently stuffed with homemade lumpia – laying on its side on a neighbor’s property.
“I felt like a knife had been stuck in my chest,” Bienvenida said, as she sat with volunteers at the Local Assistance Center that had been set up by the County at the Spring Valley branch library January 28-31. She recalled the decades of photographs and other treasured items that had been washed away. “I wanted to cry -- but I could not cry,” she told ECM.
Photo, right: Debbie Ford and her mother,Bienvenida Ford,86
At the Spring Valley center, a slew of local and state agencies set up tables to provide a range of services to flood survivors, including document replacement, health services, food assistance, debit cards, pet supplies and mental health support.
A volunteer at the check-in desk said that over 5,000 people had checked in to seek assistance as of yesterday morning, the last day the center would be open.
San Diego County and the State of California have declared emergencies The County has been gathering damage reports in hopes of qualifying for federal FEMA funds to aid victims of the disaster. But so far, no federal disaster declaration has been issued.
The County of San Diego led efforts at the flood assistance center, with visible support from the American Red Cross. Representatives from state agencies had set up tables, but they had few answers; they referred most questions to different “916” telephone numbers in Sacramento.
Inside of the LAC, everyone was scrambling to line up some form of assistance – while the next set of storms brewed outside. In the parking lot, tents were set upwith additional assistance, including the San Diego Food Bank.
While people stood in lines to speak to representatives from SDG&E, the DMV and Department of Insurance, others – like the Fords – took the moment to relay their terrifying ordeal to volunteers. As tears slid down her face, a volunteer from Tzu Chi, a Buddhist social service agency, demonstrated for Bienvenida how to make the symbol of a heart out of her fist, and then everyone at that table raised their fists in an act of solidarity with the Fords. Tzu Chi also gave out debit cards.
There were no words, as the Fords relayed how everything accumulated in their 30 years in that home was destroyed: an antique grandfather clock, precious letters, and other relics from a life spanning 86 years, and from the Phillipines to San Diego.
“My mom has already been through too much,” said Debbie Ford, referring to Bienvenida being orphaned at age 5 by the war with Japan and the Philippines, bearing 9 children and burying two of them. “I remember her saying right afterwards: ’Why couldn’t this wait until I die?’”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money through donations to help the Ford family. You can donate here.
On the other side of the room, Hana, who declined to give her last name, sat in a line to get a copy of her son’s birth certificate. It had been destroyed – along with everything else inside of the 69th Street apartment their family had lived in for the last six years. Outside, a neighbor’s fence had fallen on their car and destroyed the vehicle. The family had walked away from the scene, and up a hill, with only their lives.
“I’m trying to keep things upbeat, for him,” Hana said, gesturing to her son, Senai, who chattered from his stroller. But unsure where they would sleep that night, her eyes told the story of a woman carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Photo, right: Hana, in striped shirt with son in stroller,seeks help.
Hana, like the Fords and so many others, rented her home. They didn’t have renters’ insurance (though renters’ insurance has failed to cover flood damages even for those with policies, since normal insurance policies exclude flooding from natural disasters; special flood insurance is needed). The Fords had no idea where they would live next. Hana pointed at the table set up by the California Department of Insurance and wondered what help the agency might provide for people like her who had been displaced by the flood. (The agency referred this reporter to a spokesperson in Sacramento.)
Donna Shwisberg, a volunteer from National Crisis Response Canines, walked her 10-year old Golden Retriever, Bentley (photo, right), from group to group, looking for people who would get some comfort from the cuddly dog. “They’re so intuitive,” she said about the handful of service dogs on hand. “They can tell when people need a little warmth.”
As another series of atmospheric rivers gathered energy outside, for the flood victims who had been displaced there was only one question: “Where do we go?” As of last Thursday, there was only one answer: to the shelter the County had set up for flood victims at Lincoln High School, in the aftermath of the flood. Since then, the County has moved the shelter to the Municipal Gymnasium in Balboa Park, 2111 Pan American Plaza, San Diego, CA 92101 (Map).
For additional county information on flood recovery, visit https://www.alertsandiego.org/en-us/recovery.html.
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