Tropical Storm Hilary deluged San Diego's riverbeds on Sunday, forcing first responders to conduct a rescue mission in the Mission Valley area. Along the San Diego River near the Morena bridge, 13 people were trapped amidst the rising waters in a homeless encampment.

While San Diego officials were focused on escorting those living in encampments to inclement weather shelters ahead of Tropical Storm Hilary, as reported by Fox 5 San Diego, they were faced with the unexpected challenge of rescuing these 13 lives from the unforgiving grasp of the storm. San Diego Fire-Rescue crews, alongside California Office of Emergency Services swift water rescue teams, were dispatched to the scene and managed to safely escort all individuals to dry land. Some were able to walk out of the water on their own, and others were guided out with the assistance of first responders, saving each endangered individual from a potentially perilous fate.

Tropical Storm Hilary commenced its rampage through Southern California, with the center of the storm hitting San Diego around 5 p.m. The high-velocity winds and copious rainfall the storm brought flooding along the riverbeds as it moved northeast towards Riverside County, leaving the challenges facing these homeless encampments in its wake. Meteorologists expect steady rainfall to continue into Monday morning as the storm's back end lifts out of the area, as noted by Fox 5 San Diego.

Although initial reports mentioned 15 to 20 people potentially being stuck in the riverbed, by the time the search was called off around 9:45 p.m., a total of 13 people had been rescued, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Of those rescued, several required medical attention, primarily for hypothermia, but none needed to be transported to a hospital as their conditions were not severe. This fortunate outcome further highlights the unwavering efforts of the San Diego first responders and emergency crews amidst such a daunting rescue operation during a major tropical storm.