Bay Area businesses brace for severe flooding during storm

The impact of the atmospheric river that swept across the Bay Area on Saturday caused damage and chaos across the region. Many local business owners and employees spent the day battling damage from the storm as near-record rainfall flooded streets and highways in multiple neighborhoods.

Many residents and business owners shared photos and videos of flooded storefronts, burst pipes and damaged walls on social media throughout the day.

A video posted on Instagram by the owner of popular Japanese restaurant Rintaro shows the San Francisco restaurant’s entire courtyard completely flooded. Chairs, tables and propane tanks floated in the murky water as workers stood on top of submerged furniture to inspect damage.

“San Francisco’s storm sewers leave something to be desired,” the post said.

The owners of the Wooden Nickel, a bar across the street from Rintaro, posted photos on Instagram of the sidewalk and street in front of their store, submerged to their knees. The Rendez-Vous restaurant in North Auckland has shared a video showing workers clearing water from pipes that have been ruptured by rain.

Dave Karraker, who owns gym MX3 Fitness in the Castro, posted a video Taking to Twitter revealed that the walls on one side of the gym were nearly water damaged.

“Starting around 11 a.m. on Saturday, a huge amount of water started pouring into our walls and continued throughout the day,” Karraker told SFGATE. “We will have to shut down operations at this gym for several weeks while we work to restore and repair it.”

As a gym owner, Karraker said, that’s especially damaging because the weeks after New Year’s Eve typically bring in a flood of new clients who start making New Year’s fitness plans. He said all clients at the gym will need to move to the gym’s Mission District location while the damage is repaired.

“Definitely not how we want to start the year,” Carrack said.

Bay Area Storm Coverage





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