The flooding happened quickly at the apartment complex off National Avenue. One couple drove down the street to buy sandbags, and by the time they returned not much later, several feet of water had invaded their home, killing four of their parakeets. Another resident emerged from a quick shower to find water seeping up through the floor.
Within minutes, Alejandro Padilla, freshly bathed, was wading through filthy, waist-deep water trying to rescue his frail, 67-year-old mother, with whom he lives as her caretaker.
“It was just a little puddle,” Padilla said, pointing to where the water had been gathering in the complex’s parking lot. “Fifteen minutes, man, or 20, that’s when the water rose.”