Flash flooding sends river of water through Ventura family's home

VENTURA, Calif. (KABC) -- Even as high surf pounds coastal Southern California this week, some Ventura County homeowners are still cleaning up damage from last week's flash floods.

The Blackwell family is left living out of an Airbnb after murky, knee-deep water flooded the entire first floor of their Ventura home.

The Blackwells don't live in a flood zone, so they don't have flood insurance. They are stuck with massive repair bills even as they won't be able to return to their home for some time.

Amanda Blackwell has started a GoFundMe to help her parents rebuild, spelling out the nightmare in a detailed narrative on the page.

The flood happened in the early morning hours last week. The family noticed the street outside their home was submerged in water as the rain came down in sheets.

It appeared the rain was too much for the storm drains on their street to handle. The swelling water turned into a rushing river that slammed into their garage and wound through their entire first floor.

"It started coming in and at that point, we were like, We have to stop it," Amanda Blackwell said. "And you know, no, no, you can't stop the water."

"And then that's kind of when my survival brain clicked on and I ran to the window to kind of assess what was happening outside and I saw my car underwater. It was floating, the mailbox in the front was almost completely submerged."

Mike Blackwell tried to go outside with a shovel and unclog the storm drain. The water rose up to his waist and he had to stop out of fears of getting swept away.

"I stopped because it was kind of swift going downstream," he said. "Amanda was out - my daughter - and she says Dad, don't go any farther."

Several of their neighbors suffered water damage as well. The Blackwells expect to be displaced for several months.