Updated October 12, 2026. Rain figures are from the San Diego Union-Tribune Sunday afternoon report.
The coast took the surf
This was not only a rain storm. Surf pushed into beach cottages in Oceanside. Parts of Highway 101 near Carlsbad flooded. A street in Imperial Beach flooded off the Tijuana River estuary. The berm that protects the Del Mar lifeguard headquarters was torn into. The county health department also warned that runoff after a storm like this raises bacteria in bays and ocean water near drains and creek mouths. That is a public-beach problem. It is not something a contractor fixes in a yard.
If the damage is a seawall, a beach stair, or a city road, that is the city or a coastal specialist. The lots we get called about are inland of that.
East County and the valleys took the inches
The ground was dry. Two inches in a few hours does not soak in. It runs. The Union-Tribune’s Sunday totals:
| Place | Rain |
|---|---|
| Palomar Mountain | 5.16 in |
| Julian | 3.04 in |
| Poway | 2.69 in |
| Ramona | 2.52 in |
| Alpine | 2.30 in |
| Fallbrook | 2.22 in |
| Valley Center | 2.10 in |
| Escondido and Campo | 1.81 in |
| Santee | 1.56 in |
On a rural lot that kind of burst shows up in the same few places. A driveway pipe or culvert packed with silt and brush, so the next water goes over the road instead of through the pipe. A dirt driveway or shoulder that lost its edge. Mud against the garage or the uphill side of the pad. A rill down a slope that was fine all summer. A yard drain or catch basin still full a day later.
Steeper ground in places like Alpine, Harbison Canyon, Crest, Descanso, and Pine Valley sheds water faster than a flat lot in town. Campo, Boulevard, and Jacumba got less rain than Palomar and still enough to move dirt that has not seen a real storm since last winter.
Septic fields that were quiet all summer
East County lots on septic had a long dry stretch. A leach field can look fine until the soil is full. Then the house drains slow down, there is an odor, or the ground over the laterals is spongy. That is the field saying it cannot take more water. Pumping the tank does not repair a drowned field. More on that in septic after the rain.
What to do this week
Walk the lot in daylight. Stay off soft slopes and out of moving water in a culvert. Photograph the pipe, the washout, and any wet spot over the septic before you rake it flat. A picture of the failure is what a site look needs.
Call if water is still against the house, sewage is at the surface, or the driveway pipe is blocked and more rain is in the forecast. A muddy flower bed can wait until the soil firms up.
The step-by-step list is the property checklist. To have someone look: 619-928-3445 or tayler@tgige.com. California CSLB #1162722, Class A. SDVOSB is in process.