Complaints Pour in After Bay Area Flooding

In a matter of days, California, which has endured years of extreme drought, was hit by severe storms causing devastating flooding. San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Joaquín Torres described the storms as “unlike anything our city has seen in decades. [The storms have caused] significant hardship for many property owners,” from which they are now trying to recover.

Along with historic levels of flooding and mudslides, the storms led to power outages, leaving a significant toll on property causing an estimated $1 billion in damage throughout the state. Lick-Wilmerding High School escaped extensive damage by taking preventative measures, delaying the resumption of classes by a day, and reopening on January 6, instead of January 5, as had originally been scheduled. While the turbulent weather has passed, many individuals and businesses across San Francisco and the rest of the state are still struggling to recover.

In San Francisco’s Mission District, The Nihon Whiskey Lounge, located at 1779 Folsom Street, was one of the many businesses closed due to the tremendous damage caused by the flooding. Owner Khaled Dajani, whose residence was also badly damaged, described the city’s response as miserable.

“At one point, the water was about knee high… city officials did not show up even though they were talking about it on TV, and you didn’t see any city officials coming to check in on businesses,” Dajani said. Considering that San Francisco is one of America’s wealthiest cities, Dajani believes the city should be more proactive in taking preventative measures. The buildings in the area are located in a flood zone, but are not generally covered by flood insurance, which has aggravated the situation.

The  San Francisco Chronicle reported that the damages in San Francisco alone amounted to at least $46 million as a result of all of the winter storms. Multiple factors are believed to have contributed to the flooding, including an antiquated sewer system and back-ups in storm drains. Water barriers could have reduced flooding in the Mission, but officials failed to deploy them due to an initially chaotic and uncoordinated response. Additionally, the city kept running out of sandbags, forcing many residents to fill their own at the beach. There has also been blame placed on officials for failing to make much-needed upgrades in neighborhoods that are widely known to be vulnerable to flooding.

Many California residents believe the government is not doing enough despite the fact that Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to bolster the state’s storm response, aimed at helping communities that suffered damage, and President Joe Biden ordered federal assistance to supplement local efforts. In terms of guidance for affected residents, the City of San Francisco recommends that people contact their insurance company to assess damages and purchase flood insurance.
Abby Fay, Director of Communications, Office of the Assessor-Recorder, explained that if a property owner suffers more than $10,000 in damages due to a calamity, they may qualify for a reduction in their assessed property value, which could then result in a subsequent reduction in their property tax bill. This is conditioned on the submission of a properly completed disaster relief form to the Assessor-Recorder no later than one year from the date of the damage.

As stated on the City of San Francisco website, “Impacted small business located within the city’s flood zone could be eligible for up to $5,000 and small businesses with significant flood damage located outside of the zone could be eligible for up to $2,000 in awards through the Flood Disaster Relief Grant program, which prioritizes small businesses that have been the most impacted.” Damages caused by wind or power outages do not qualify for the grant. However, when asked how many individuals have applied for property tax disaster relief so far, Fay confirmed that only three have done so.

This poses the remaining question: what is the city doing now to minimize the chances of such disasters recurring in the future? Mary Ellen Carroll, Executive Director of the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, said, “San Francisco has done significant work on its storm water systems, but we will likely never be able to prevent some flooding from happening when we get so much rain in a short amount of time.” She recommended that interested parties consult the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) website (sfpuc.org) for more information on the city’s infrastructure projects.

More significantly, San Francisco Mayor, London Breed, told NBC News on January 17, “We are hard at work making improvements to our infrastructure as part of a $632 million investment to help reduce the risk of flooding in the future.” The city has a ten-year capital plan for the allocation of funding through the year 2032 in order to improve stormwater management in problem areas around the city. Though such improvements are certainly welcome, they will likely come too late for Dajani and others in his situation.

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Aj Naser

AJ Naser is a junior and a writer for the Paper Tiger. He enjoys playing basketball and traveling to new places. He is passionate about making an impact in his community, doing meaningful work, and focusing his time where he can make a difference.

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