Storm damages dozens of cars at San Francisco repair shop

An auto repair shop in San Francisco is still clearing out last week’s storms when at least 40 vehicles were damaged in the flood.

Alioto’s garage is located on Folsom Street in a flood-prone area. The owner now expresses concern about the city’s flood mitigation efforts.

Chris Alioto said the flood water damaged about 40 of his customers’ cars, and there could have been more.

“We had about six or eight employees who came on their day off when they heard about the rain and drove about half of the cars to safety,” said garage co-owner Alioto.

At a nearby auto shop, Carlos Ballesteros said his house was also flooded.

“Let’s say 15 inches, more than one foot,” said Ballesteros of California Detailing Inc.

Dirt and debris seeped into his workshop, but what saved this garage from serious damage was the pumping system they use when they wash the car after maintenance.

“So as soon as water from the street enters the house,” he said, the pumps turn on and pump out excess water from his garage.

Alioto said he was disappointed with the city’s response to this series of storms.

“Since COVID came along, puc has stopped serving drains, cleaning them up every fall,” he said.

NBC Bay Area reached out to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission about Alioto’s claim to maintain storm drains during the pandemic, but received no response.

Drainage and runoff during heavy rains have long been a concern for residents and business owners in the area of ​​Folsom Street, and during the latest series of storms, rain simply flooded the neighborhood.

San Francisco has long planned to upgrade the sewer and drainage systems on this stretch of street, and according to the San Francisco Public Utilities website, construction on the project should begin sometime this year.

Meanwhile Mayor London Breed will announce on Wednesday a series of grants for small businesses affected by the floods.

Content Source

Dallas Press News – Latest News:
Dallas Local News || Fort Worth Local News | Texas State News || Crime and Safety News || National news || Business News || Health News

texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

Related Articles

Back to top button