San Jose Families Flooded Out File Lawsuit

SAN JOSE, CA — Several San Jose families who lost their homes and property to the Coyote Creek flood earlier this year have filed claims against the city, Santa Clara County and the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Amanda Hawes, the attorney representing the families, is encouraging other victims of the flood to file claims by Aug. 18, which abides by the hard deadline of filing a claim within six months of a disaster like the Feb. 21 flood.

"My expectation is that there won't be any response from any of the agencies until that deadline has passed," Hawes said. Gordon Smith, a longtime resident of South 20th Street, lost his family's car and had to rush his 9-year-old daughter out of the house to escape the flood.

"We lost our water heater. We lost electricity, gas and plumbing. We may have long-term issues with the foundation," Smith said, noting that his family suffered less property damage than their neighbors, many of whom will likely lose their homes.

Smith said that in addition to helping his neighborhood get back on its feet, he hoped the water district would fix Anderson Dam and install pumps. "That seems like a no-brainer to me," Smith said.

Maria Ponce, whose house on South 21st Street in the William Street area has been in her family for three generations, said that she was seeking to file a claim but had not done so yet. Ponce said floodwaters damaged her hardwood floors and destroyed her basement and many items in storage, including irreplaceable photos of her late mother.

Around 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 21, Ponce's 14-year-old son called her while she was at work downtown to alert her of the rising floodwaters and "chaos" on the street.

"I didn't take a chance," Ponce said, recalling rushing home to evacuate their pets and driving her pickup truck through deep floodwaters. Funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not cover the extensive damage that the flood did to Ponce's home, she said.

Ruben Garcia, who speaks no English, explained in Spanish that he and his wife are struggling to restart their businesses since they lost cars and property to the flood.

"The district will give each claim due consideration," Santa Clara Valley Water District chair John Varela said in a statement. "Our hearts go out to everyone who was impacted by the flooding."

Flood victims can seek help filing claims at the Roosevelt Community Center on 901 E. Santa Clara St. on July 15 or the Vietnamese Community Center at 2072 Lucretia Ave. on July 22.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock