The City of Los Angeles’s flood prevention equipment was unable to manage the deluge that hit the Fairfax District earlier this week, as rainwater flushed into businesses along Melrose Avenue.
Several business owners said they were disappointed with the city’s ability to manage flooding and drainage systems Monday.
Christina Silang is the manager at Nathalia Gavira: Black, a clothing store on Melrose.
“I know we’re never really prepared because it never rains, but what’s the point of doing a flash flood warning and having newscasters and weather reporters if the city cannot just come and do their job properly?” said Silang.
In response to the flooding the L.A. Sanitation and Environment (LASAN) dispatched Vactor trucks, which are built to vacuum water and other debris from the streets. According to the LASAN website, the large blue trucks have a pump that evacuates storm drains clogged up by the rain.
Media Wine and Spirits, a liquor store on Melrose, was one of many businesses in the area damaged during the storm. It took on an estimated foot of flooding.
An employee at Media Wine voiced their frustrations over the damage and lack of immediate response, and said that the flooding stopped as soon as the manhole was uncovered.
“There was a block over the manhole cover,” the employee said. “And when that was removed the water was gone within 15 seconds.”
The trucks, along with being reportedly slow to respond, created additional issues due to their size and slow moving nature.
“They slow business down,” the employee said. “Customers can’t turn into the parking lots as easily or drive the street as easily.”
Silang claimed that, despite hearing the trucks in the area, they failed to respond until after the damage had already been done.
“I heard the trucks go off, because they were at the corner a half of a block down, but it wasn’t until about 30 or 45 minutes after the fact that they showed up,” she said. “As fast as [the water] rises, the minute they turned that machine on, the water just disappeared in 15 seconds.”
Silang said that had the trucks attended to the street earlier, a lot of the damage could have been prevented.
However, LASAN refuted Silang’s claim, saying that the trucks were staffed and readily available to assist.
“A powerful, sudden and fast-moving storm system associated with an atmospheric river condition produced excessive amounts of rain that temporarily overwhelmed the stormwater system,” the agency said in a statement, adding that the Vactor truck on site was “designated as backup equipment” and “remained fully staffed throughout the duration of the storm.”
“This was completely unacceptable,” said Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky in a statement to ABC7News. “We have demanded an immediate review from LASAN to determine exactly what happened, who was responsible for the breakdown, and what corrective actions will be taken right now. We expect answers and we expect immediate change. This cannot happen again.”
The LASAN spokesperson added that the department would continue to coordinate with business owners to ensure they had sandbags, were aware of future repairs, and had contact information for reporting flooding or other issues and to address questions or concerns, according to KTLA.