A San Diego woman was forced to scavenge for debris after her business and home were swept away by floodwaters.
“This is the tattoo shop I've been in since 1984, and we live in the back,” said Judy Parker.
Parker is the owner of Pacific Tattoo in San Diego. Her store is filled with her marine life artwork. There are also many treasures that testify to her artistic talent.
“This is my hall of fame,” she said while showing NBC 7 the award wall.
Parker is one of hundreds of San Diegans affected by the Jan. 22 floods.
“One day the city came and blocked all the storm drains, and we thought, 'Why did they do that?'” And they said, “That's our job.” said. We're just doing what we're told. “Then we got a notification that we were in a flood zone,'' Parker said.
When Parker saw the water rising, she rolled up towels and placed them on her front and back doors to keep water out of her home and business.
“I was looking out the window and I was shocked to see the water rising, and then it started coming in,” Parker said. “There was a foot of water all the way through.”
Floodwaters damaged her tattoo equipment, fixtures and walls.
“My business is done. I don't know how to recover it. We're working on restoring the building right now. We haven't gotten all the stuff out yet,” Parker said.
For Parker, the experience was difficult to put into words.
“I can't express how I feel, I'm sorry. It's up and down. It's funny. It's funny,” Parker said.
She and her husband are trying to make their place habitable again, but she said the process takes a lot of time, effort and money.
“I have to pay people to make it safe to live here again, but I'm scared to death of the rain. I'm scared to death of the rain from now on. My husband wants to move, but he doesn't have the money. We don’t have one,” Parker said.
She remains optimistic that she will get through it.
“I didn't really panic, I was just sad, but my cats are okay. We're okay,” Parker said.
For now, Parker said he is working at a friend's store, Holy Turtle, in Pacific Beach.
