San Diego council ratifies mayor's emergency proclamation after historic January storm, vows expanded relief

San Diego City Council unanimously ratified the mayor's proclamation of a local emergency on Jan. 22, saying the decision will help speed the city's response after a storm officials described as one of the heaviest on record.

The council's action followed a presentation by Matt Yogan of the mayor's office, who said the storm was "an unprecedented 1,000-year storm" that caused widespread flooding across neighborhoods including Southcrest, Shelltown, Mountain View and Encanto and has generated preliminary public-infrastructure damage estimates of about $44,000,000. "This is the action being requested of you today," Yogan said as he urged the council to ratify the proclamation so the city could access state and federal recovery resources.

Why it matters: Ratification is required by municipal and state law when a mayor declares a local emergency while council is not in session. The vote clears administrative hurdles for coordinating relief, deploying mutual aid and seeking reimbursement from Cal OES and FEMA as assessment teams evaluate private and public property damage.

Councilmembers and staff outlined immediate steps to help residents, including: establishing a closer local assistance center than the county site in Spring Valley; distributing sand and prefilled sandbags at recreation centers; providing dumpsters and waiving towing fees in affected neighborhoods; and launching a small-business emergency response grant program offering up to $2,500 per business (and up to $5,000 for nonprofits in the federally designated promise zone).

During the meeting, Councilmember Vivian Moreno, who had been organizing relief efforts in Southcrest, urged faster on-the-ground support and called for hotel vouchers and daily updates on channel clearing. The council also discussed the need to help residents file the county damage survey used by FEMA and Cal OES to determine eligibility for federal assistance. Megan Beal, the city's disaster cost recovery coordinator, said FEMA and Cal OES crews were conducting site visits and that the city would share results in the coming days.

Residents and community groups gave extensive public testimony before the vote, describing homes ruined by mud and floodwater, people temporarily sheltering in hotels, and volunteers distributing donations and clearing debris. Representatives of Alliance San Diego and other neighborhood groups pressed the council for a plan to clear storm drains and culverts, prioritize stormwater investments and ensure equitable distribution of relief across historically underinvested neighborhoods.

The council adopted the ratification motion without objection; the clerk recorded the vote as unanimous in attendance. Councilmembers stressed that the ratification is an initial but necessary step to unlock funding and coordinate a sustained recovery effort.

Next steps: City staff said cleanup and recovery operations would continue for several weeks, with more detailed damage estimates and plans to be shared as the emergency operations center and incident management team document losses and coordinate with county and state partners. Residents are being urged to report damage through the county's online survey at sandiego.gov/storm and to contact council offices for assistance with immediate needs.