Several inches of rain hit Ventura County overnight, causing flooding and evacuations for parts of Port Hueneme Thursday morning.
The storm was so severe in Port Hueneme that the Ventura County Fire Department said crews responded to 12 swift water rescues.
Port Hueneme resident Bob Myers said he was sleeping around 2 a.m. when the sound of water woke him up.
“I didn’t hear any rain, I didn’t hear any thunder, I didn’t hear anything in terms of the storm. It was the water, the groundwater, that was coming through into the house,” Myers said.
Myers estimated the water was three feet deep when rescue crews showed up to help him out of the house.
“My house is gone … I’m sure the house is going to have to be gutted and rebuilt,” he said, adding that his home is not insured because it is not in a floodplain.
“Where all this water came from, why it flooded like that there, I don’t know,” said Myers, who is unsure of what will happen next. “I got nowhere to go back to”
An evacuation order was issued shortly after 5 a.m. due to the flooding, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Emergency Services dashboard.
An interactive map identified the area under an evacuation order as “Zone 1” in Hueneme Bay. An evacuation shelter was open at Oxnard College located at 4000 S. Rose Ave.
Three evacuation warnings due to a continuing threat of flooding were issued for the areas of “Zone 2” in Hueneme Bay, Camp Chaffee/Casitas Springs and Grada/Trueno.
There was no word on when the evacuation orders would be lifted.
As for the storm, it isn’t over. Another round of heavy downpours and a further threat of flooding is forecast for later Thursday into Friday.
