SAN DIEGO — A Southcrest family who lost everything in January's flood has been reunited with personal photos they never thought they’d see again.
It's a reunion Alma Dolopo didn't think she'd ever have, coming from a scenario she also never anticipated.
"It was horrible. Nobody expected it," said Dolopo.
Dolopo was working from her home on Birch Street in Southcrest on January 22, when flood waters rushed in.
"It was just like a river on the side of my door and I was like oh my gosh. I had my phone and we were just walking out of there trying to get out to the end of that street. And that was it,” said Dolopo.
Dolopo returned the next day to find everything she owned, including her car, had been destroyed.
"The fridge was knocked down, like everything that we own, all of my computer stuff, everything, the bed, everything is gone," said Dolopo.
Or so she thought.
A week later, San Diego city crews were clearing debris in the neighborhood when they came across dozens of family photos.
They were discovered around the block from Dolopo's home.
CBS 8 reported on the finding, which caught the attention of Dolopo's uncle, who called to tell her that her photos had been saved.
"They're like my life. Like, when I saw someone had them, I'm like wow, there's good people that stopped working and just said we gotta give them back. That was nice," said Dolopo.
It's a miraculous discovery considering the photos got swept away and separated from the plastic containers they had been stored in.
Dolopo said they represent more than 20 years' worth of memories.
"Well, the one that's featured here the most is my second daughter. She's 24 now."
But, more than that, they offer a glimmer of hope during a time when she and her family need it most.
“My mind has been running the whole past couple weeks. When I saw the photos, I was at pause. I was like wow. It's the only thing I have now,” said Dolopo.
The mother of three, who had been renting the home she lived in, is now staying in a hotel in search of a permanent place to live.
She's not sure where she'll end up, but said she looks forward to returning to a sense of normalcy and creating new memories wherever that is.
Dolopo’s family has set up a GoFundMe page to help her get back on her feet.
WATCH RELATED: City of San Diego trying to reunite family with lost photos found in Southcrest flood area