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In a matter of minutes Monday morning, communities across southeastern San Diego were transformed into disaster zones: Families fled their homes in chest-deep floodwaters; vehicles were swept downstream as roads became rivers; residents cried for help from their rooftops.

A deluge of rainfall from what city officials are calling a “thousand-year storm” forced hundreds of rescues, flooded an untold number of homes and businesses and caused millions of dollars in estimated damage. The floodwaters had mostly receded by Tuesday afternoon, revealing the devastating aftermath of California’s latest climate emergency — and leaving hundreds without housing and transportation, and with ruined valuables and personal belongings.

“The damage and the impact was absolutely devastating,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said at a Tuesday news conference. “Entire lives changed in just a few minutes.”

“The amount of water that we saw yesterday would have overwhelmed any city drainage system,” he said. “This dumping of rainwater is unprecedented in most San Diegans’ lifetimes. None of us alive have seen anything quite like this.”

More than 4 inches of rain fell in several areas in and around San Diego on Monday — much of it in just a few hours — a historic rainfall event, according to Elizabeth Adams, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego. The airport recorded 2.73 inches, more than its typical total for the entire month of January.

“That is not only the wettest January day on record, but it’s the fourth-wettest day of any calendar day” for San Diego, Adams said. Many areas saw rainfall rates well above three-quarters of an inch per hour. Over half an inch per hour can easily cause dangerous flash flooding.

California

Jan. 22, 2024

“It’s a ton,” Adams said. “Pretty much anywhere in the country that receives 3 to 4 inches in a three- to four-hour time period is going to see flooding.”

Parts of San Diego were completely inundated.

The city’s southeastern neighborhoods, including Southcrest, Mountain View, Encanto, Logan Heights and San Ysidro, saw some of the worst damage.

Gloria said city and county leaders are focused on recovery. Both the city and county declared a local emergency. The mayor estimated, conservatively, that the storm caused $6 million in damage, but officials say assessments are far from complete.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday proclaimed a state of emergency for San Diego and Ventura counties, both of which have been walloped by wet winter storms. At the end of December, torrential downpours in and around Oxnard caused similar damage. During that event, Oxnard saw rainfall rates of 3 inches an hour, one of the heaviest downpours ever recorded in the area.

The worry now is that the number of people displaced in San Diego could continue to grow in the coming days. Though no official figure was provided Tuesday, city leaders said they estimated hundreds had been forced from their homes, at least temporarily.

“What was generally assumed to be the impact yesterday … was probably an underestimate,” said San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera, whose district includes some of the communities that saw the worst of the flooding. He said he visited many of those residents early Tuesday, touring a whole apartment complex that took on water, likely displacing dozens of families.

The American Red Cross is operating two emergency shelters at Lincoln High School and Bostonia Recreation Center. As of Tuesday, the nonprofit said 18 households — more than 50 people — had registered to stay. But with so many people probably still returning home after fleeing, Elo-Rivera said he expected those numbers to rise. City and county officials are asking residents to fill out a voluntary survey about flood damage.

“I think it’s going to take a little bit more time to realize the extent of the damage,” Elo-Rivera said.

On Monday afternoon, Manuel Deleon was unexpectedly called back to the office during his shift driving a tow truck — only to find the office flooded. Roaring water had swept away his personal vehicle.

“The water was out of control,” said Deleon, 47. “My car slipped with the mud and went right into [a nearby] ditch and it was just fully submerged.”

Deleon, whose 2007 BMW was one of dozens of cars carried away in the flash floods, said he wasn’t sure how he’d get to work in the coming days. He attempted to clean the soggy and caked-in mud from the interior, but that was a lost cause.

“This rain took everybody by surprise,” he said. “It’s crazy.”

San Diego Fire Chief Colin Stowell said his crews made at least 150 rescues Monday, in addition to 30 animal rescues.

“We literally saw over 100 rescues in the Southcrest neighborhood alone,” Stowell said.

“Luckily we saw very few injuries and no fatalities,“ Stowell said, calling that feat “remarkable” given the extent of the emergency.

More than 1,000 people remained without power Tuesday, after widespread outages Monday, according to the San Diego Gas & Electric outage map.

Although much of San Diego was under a flood watch all day Monday, city officials said they were not prepared for the extent — and speed — of what came down.

“Nobody anticipated the severity of the storm,” Gloria said. “We got a lot more rain than [what was predicted] in a much shorter amount of time.”

He said he planned to meet with the National Weather Service to discuss the disparity between forecasts and what occurred but emphasized that his teams were currently focused on recovery.

Adams said the circumstances Monday ended up being a perfect storm for rare, heavy rainfall in San Diego: extreme atmospheric moisture and a storm path over its downtown — which forecasters warned residents about as soon as possible, she said.

Just after 8 a.m. Monday, the agency issued a flash flood warning for a stretch of coastal communities just south of Orange County, including Oceanside, Carlsbad and Vista. Soon after, a larger stretch of southwestern California was placed under a flash flood warning.

“We used pretty intense warnings,” Adams said. “We tried to really heighten the message … [that] this is a really dangerous situation that doesn’t happen in San Diego proper that often.”

The day before the storm, the National Weather Service’s forecast discussion warned that the ground, already saturated from storms over the weekend, could heighten flood concerns. But forecasters said it was still hard to predict how much rain would fall, and where.

By Monday morning, Adams said the situation developed rapidly, with that intense atmospheric moisture — what she called 250% to 350% of normal — and the direct storm path aligning.

That “really lead to torrential rainfall across the county, but especially focused on downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods,” Adams said.

City officials said these extreme circumstances are likely to become a new normal requiring more preparation, coordination and investment.

“This is called climate change. It is real, it is happening,” Gloria said, “and we experienced it yesterday in San Diego.”

Officials agreed that the city’s outdated stormwater drainage system, for which $2 billion of necessary work hasn’t been budgeted, didn’t help.

Elo-Rivera said he would like to see those much-needed funds allocated, and in an equitable way — noting that many of the communities affected most were working-class, with a majority of Latino and Black residents.

These communities “have long been under-invested in and divested in and ignored by the city,” he said. “Public investment in climate resiliency is incredibly important … [especially] prioritizing the communities that have been left behind and are most likely to be devastated by events like yesterday.”

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Glass half full, it’s baseball season. Glass half empty, this was an inauspicious way for the 2024 Padres to get things started.

Given that it’s Feb. 22, the Padres will gladly take the glass-half-full view following their 14-1 loss to the rival Dodgers on Thursday afternoon in the Cactus League opener.

“Didn’t go our way today, but ultimately, for me, in Spring Training, it’s about just looking to see if we’re on time with certain things and looking at the little things,” said manager Mike Shildt.

Forget the scoreboard, here’s what really mattered from Thursday’s Cactus League opener:

Merrill tested in left Two of the biggest Padres storylines this spring revolve around shortstops changing positions. Xander Bogaerts, making his second-base debut, had one bloop hit over his head and no other balls in his direction.

Jackson Merrill, meanwhile, got tested in left field. He made three catches, including a diving grab on a tricky sinking line drive in the first. In the fourth, he ranged back and to his right to snare another liner -- a lower degree of difficulty, but still a challenging play for a neophyte left fielder. Merrill made it look routine.

“He was fantastic,” Shildt said. “Ballplayers just get it done, man.”

Merrill will continue to get reps at shortstop this spring, Shildt said earlier this week. But the clearest path to playing time is in left field. The Padres' No. 2 prospect in the MLB Pipeline rankings, Merrill started 0-for-2 at the plate, but so far, the glove looks good.

“I’ve come a long way since I started [playing the outfield] last year,” Merrill said. “I feel like now I’m taking good first steps toward the ball in every direction. … I’m definitely seeing the ball a lot better off the bat.”

Short day for Musgrove No matter how he pitched on Thursday, Joe Musgrove’s spring is already off to a better start than the last one. It was last February when Musgrove fractured his big toe by dropping a kettlebell on it in the team’s weight room. He then missed his first few starts of the season.

Better to be on the mound -- even if the results Thursday were ugly. Musgrove faced four Dodgers hitters, all of whom worked deep counts. All four reached base, and, eventually, all four scored (two after Musgrove’s exit).

“First start of spring, I could’ve struck out the side, and I wouldn’t have felt much different than I do right now,” said Musgrove. “First one is always about getting your feet under you, getting used to the clock again and the competition.”

In a different spring, Musgrove wouldn’t have been on the mound at all. But the Padres open their season against the Dodgers in Korea, March 20-21. In all likelihood, Musgrove is lining up to start one of those games.

As such, he pushed his scheduled throw day back by one day so he could pitch in the opener Thursday. Now, having thrown only 24 pitches, he’s scheduled to pitch again on Monday (planned short rest) with multiple innings as the target.

“Again, the results are kind of irrelevant at this point,” Musgrove said. “You never want to go out there and fail. But the progression is a little bit more important.”

What a relief The Padres set specific innings for their pitchers on Thursday, so when Musgrove exited early, they called on Minor Leaguers to fill the void. Predictably, those Minor Leaguers were hit hard. But when Shildt got into his big league bullpen options, the results were impressive.

Jeremiah Estrada struck out the side in the second, falling one ball shy of an immaculate inning. A waiver claim from the Cubs, Estrada is in contention for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Then, Yuki Matsui took the ball for the third, facing big league hitters for the first time in a game setting. He equaled Estrada, striking out all three Dodgers.

“I was pretty nervous before the outing, that’s for sure,” Matsui said. “But Estrada, he [was] really good pitching before me, so he gave me some confidence.”

Matsui, who was one of the best relievers in Japan before he signed with the Padres in December, is expected to pitch high-leverage innings in San Diego. The Dodgers’ Gavin Lux, Matsui’s first strikeout victim, was among those impressed.

“Man, he threw me a really good splitter,” Lux said. “His fastball's got some ride to it. Sneaky, with a good splitter. From what I saw, he's pretty damn good.”

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PHOENIX -- The Milwaukee Brewers have signed catcher Gary Sánchez to a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2025.

Sánchez, 31, hit 19 homers last season while playing for the San Diego Padres and New York Mets. In 75 games, he had a .217 batting average with a .288 on-base percentage, .492 slugging percentage and 47 RBIs.

He played three games for the Mets and 72 games for the Padres.

Sanchez owns a .225 career batting average with a .309 on-base percentage, 173 homers and 448 RBIs in 741 regular-season games with the New York Yankees (2015-2021), Minnesota Twins (2022), Mets and Padres.

The Brewers already have William Contreras returning at catcher after he batted .289 with a .367 on-base percentage, 17 homers and 78 RBIs last season to help Milwaukee win the National League Central title. Contreras was selected as the Brewers' most valuable player last season by the Milwaukee chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Milwaukee lost its backup catcher from last season when Victor Caratini signed with the Houston Astros, though the Brewers have since signed Eric Haase to a major league deal and Austin Nola to a minor league deal. The Brewers also could choose to have both Contreras and Sánchez in the lineup by making one of them a designated hitter.

To make room on the roster, the Brewers designated infielder Jahmai Jones for assignment.

The Brewers on Wednesday also made official their signing of injured right-hander Brandon Woodruff to a two-year deal.

The backloaded $17.5 million contract includes a mutual option for the 2026 season.

Woodruff is expected to miss most, if not all, of the upcoming season while he recovers from shoulder surgery.

"I'll take it day to day, week to week, month to month, see where I'm at, at the end of the year," Woodruff said. "If it makes sense, maybe. If not, I'll be ready to go for '25."

Woodruff will receive $2.5 million this year and $5 million in 2025. The deal includes a $20 million mutual option for 2026 with a $10 million buyout, half payable Jan. 15, 2026, and the remainder July 15, 2026. The contract also grants Woodruff a full no-trade provision and a hotel suite on road trips.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story was excerpted from AJ Cassavell's Padres Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

If Ethan Salas weren't the 17-year-old in big league camp that everyone's talking about, you'd really never know that he's a 17-year-old in big league camp.

At least, that's the assessment of those who have worked closely with the Padres' No. 1 prospect over the past few weeks.

"He's really just so natural with it at this point," said lefty Robby Snelling, the team's No. 3 prospect, who has thrown to Salas in several live settings this spring. "He doesn't act like a normal 17-year-old. He receives just as well as anybody else I've thrown to. I really don't think about the age when we get into it. We're both trying to do the same thing. In my opinion, age doesn't really matter, if you're capable of doing it at this high of a level."

Said righty Adam Mazur, the Padres' No. 8 prospect: "He definitely doesn't come across like [a 17-year-old]. You can tell, he's reading hitters, he's looking at all the little things. He calls a great game, really good at receiving, really good at knowing what a pitcher needs in his set-up or as a target. You know when you're pitching to him that he's going to battle with you."

The Padres began their spring slate Thursday with a Cactus League tilt against the rival Dodgers. With a number of catchers ahead of him in the big league pecking order, Salas is unlikely to play the opener.

Still, he's going to play at some point very soon. When he does, I think it's fair to make a big deal about it. He's a 17-year-old catcher facing big league competition and catching big league arms. For that position, that's really, really impressive.

But here's the thing: The Padres aren't making a big deal out of it. They asked Salas to report to big league camp with players twice his age, because they felt he was ready for it. It's the same reason they moved him as high as Double-A San Antonio last year in his first full professional season.

"The big thing is just continue to learn and grow and get more experiences," said Padres general manager A.J. Preller. "It's good for him being around better players, big league players. He's shown well so far early in camp. He'll get some opportunity to play in these games, and when the time comes, he'll get ready for his Minor League season."

It's only been 13 months since the Padres signed Salas as the top international prospect in last year's class. Last summer, he became the first 16-year-old to play pro ball in a full-season league since Julio Urías.

But the Padres weren't content to stop there. Salas held his own at Single-A Lake Elsinore, so they promoted him to High-A Fort Wayne -- and eventually San Antonio so he could take part in the Missions' playoff run.

And while Salas struggled at the plate at those two higher levels, he was, after all, a 17-year-old facing players well above his age and experience level.

"I always love a challenge," Salas said. "I feel like I was never overmatched at any level I played at last year. It's just going into [this year] more prepared and knowing more about myself than I did last year."

If Salas loves a challenge, he's in the right organization. There might be no team in baseball that's so willing to push its top prospects. That's led some people to wonder whether it's possible Salas could earn a late-season callup as soon as this year.

That still feels like a stretch. But clearly the Padres think highly enough of Salas' abilities that they aren't afraid to challenge him. He's met those challenges thus far, catching live BPs on the same schedule as the rest of the team's catchers and holding his own against the pitchers in big league camp.

Again, easy to forget he's 17... until he's asked about sharing a clubhouse with some of the Padres' superstars.

"It's cool," Salas said earlier this spring. "I watched these guys play on TV when I was younger. I've played with them in videogames. It's pretty cool just getting to know them as people and as teammates. It's going to be really, really fun."

It’s been one month since the heavy storm on Jan. 22 that flooded several San Diego neighborhoods.

“It still hurts, sorry, it still hurts,” Mountain View homeowner Mary Landavazo said. “I love decorations. I did so much inside, so much outside remodeling, all for it to be gone in the blink of an eye.”

For Landavazo, Jan. 22, feels like it happened yesterday.

“We’re still living it. We’re still going through it. We’re still having to go through things everyday,” she said.

Landavazo says she’ll never forget having to escape her home from a tiny window on the second floor.

“That little window on the left side, all the way at the top, that’s where we came out of. My husband climbed out, so he could help me. I came out, came down this way, came down here. I had to step on this with my foot this way, and then step on the pillar and from the pillar to a kayak,” she explained.

In the blink of an eye, the water that forced her from her home disappeared.

“Like that. It happened fast,” she said.

But what didn’t disappear was the destruction it left behind.

“This used to be the living area. This used to be the dining area. This over here was the laundry room, and this was like the pantry area,” she said. “This use to be a brick wall. It’s gone. The water, the current, just knocked it down.”

The emotional scars also didn't disappear.

“You’re driving, and it’s raining, and you’re freaking out because you pass by a puddle, and there’s a trauma there. You think you’re OK, you think you’re OK, but then it hits you,” she said.

And when asked if her house will ever be a home again, she answered with a simple shoulder shrug.

“Is it going to be the same? We don’t know. There is no relief. There is no relief. There’s no relief,” she said.

Landavazo said her family is one of the few that did have flood insurance because her home was built in a flood zone.