SAN DIEGO — Twenty-five Afghan refugee families living at an apartment complex on Delta Street were forced to evacuate Monday during San Diego's historic flooding.
"My wife called me and was crying, 'The flooding [has] happened, please come early,'" said Zianuddin Zia.
He said he rushed home to get to his wife and three children, including a baby who is just 10 days old. He said it was initially difficult to get to his first floor apartment because the flood waters were so high.
The family was able to make it out safely.
Their landlord has temporarily relocated Zia's family and 24 other refugee families to a motel in National City. They had no electricity at the complex.
Neighbors said the clogged flood channel behind the complex is to blame for the mess.
"Everything in my home is destroyed," he said. "We don’t have anything to use like blankets, like shoes."
Zia said his family fled Afghanistan in 2021 after the Taliban took over. He said he had been working in logistics for the US Military.
Zia took CBS 8 into his apartment Wednesday to show us the aftermath. Mud covered the floors. Much of what they own is soaked with floodwater.
Zia said he lost his job as a salesman late last month, and he is now looking for work to support his family.
Nancy Harmon, a retired school teacher, has been working to help Afghan refugees for 6 years. She knows all of the families who live at the complex and said it's heartbreaking seeing them struggle.
"These people have been very traumatized having to leave their country, their families behind," said Harmon tearfully. "I just watch them struggle so much. It takes a lot to get their apartments where they need to be, to have a couch, a bed for everyone. To lose it all and have to start again is so hard."
Harmon and her colleague Barbara Cummings are looking for donations including car seats, blankets, food, clothing and shoes. If you would like to help, contact Barbara at sdwalker557@gmail.com
