‘It’s hard to see something like this.’ Merced County ag workers sink under flood impacts

Isabel Ramirez returned to a damp, moldy home Thursday morning, just a few days after she, her husband and two children escaped a flood that tore through her Planada neighborhood.

On Tuesday she and her family had fled their home, wading through waist-deep water as the flood rapidly moved in during the dark early morning. They spent the past few days resting at the Merced County Fairgrounds shelter.

Looking at her backyard Thursday, which had a torn down fence and items that had been scattered about by the rushing waters, Ramirez, 24, wondered how her family would make it through the coming days. Her house was left nearly uninhabitable by the flood.

“It’s hard. We don’t really have the money to put down the deposit and get another house,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez and her husband, like many Planada residents, work in the agriculture industry, the backbone of the Valley’s economy. They are among the county’s low-income residents. And while times were tough even before the flood, they are bound to get harder.

Many Planada residents The Fresno Bee spoke with after the recent flood are also renters. They wonder whether their landlords will make necessary repairs in the aftermath of the flood, or evict their tenants instead.

Alicia Rodriguez, president of St. Vincent de Paul Planada Sacred Heart Conference, said those kinds of stories, in the aftermath of the flood, are common in Planada.

On Thursday morning Rodriguez was busy with her notepad, writing down the names and addresses of families in need. She spent the day going house-to-house, giving families phone numbers and information for county resources, food and other items to help.

Rodriguez has also been communicating non-stop with affected residents via social media and a Planada community Facebook group, whether it’s information about power outages or where to get fresh water and food.

Rodriguez said many of the homes the agriculture workers live in were already in bad shape before the flood. “But they don’t say anything because they are afraid that their rights will be violated,” Rodriguez said. “So they don’t say anything. These are our quiet people in Planada.”

Rodriguez said the situation is more severe for those vulnerable family members who have conditions like asthma, as the mold inside the homes can be a trigger.

“Most of the people that we help actually are field workers,” Rodriguez explained.

“And right now with all the rain, they weren’t able to do pruning and (go out) there because it was too wet. They weren’t able to go to the farms because they were overflooded. Even before the flood they were living very hard, and they are worried about where their funding is.”

The flood is affecting young families like the Ramirezes, and longtime Planada residents who’ve been around for generations.

Samuel Canal, 79, could barely speak when he returned to his home Thursday. Asked about how he was feeling, he was on the verge of tears. He turned and quietly walked back inside his flooded-out home.

His daughter Gloria Canal, 52, of Merced, rushed to rescue her father early Tuesday morning as soon as she heard the floodwaters were moving in.

Gloria was also in a state of shock Thursday morning, seeing the loss suffered by her father and others. “It’s hard to see something like this. A little town where you grew up. It’s hard,” Gloria said.

How to get help

For flood information and resources, Merced County has a hotline: (209) 385-7563.