\u201cThe rain came, and it came abundantly,\u201d said Mary Akengbowa, who is taking shelter at the Salvation Army on Elmira street.<\/p>\n
Her and up to 100 others living in a Salvation Army shelter were taking shelter from last night\u2019s storm. It ripped open the roof, letting water into the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we saw some leaking going on in the upstairs dorm area where we were,\u201d Akengbowa said. \u201cLadies from the other side, where the families were, they said, \u2018The water\u2019s pouring in, like, now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
RELATED | Over 50,000 still without power after storms, CPS says power could take days to restore<\/a><\/p>\n Power went out in the night. Salvation Army Major Jaremiah Romack says the shelter has an emergency generator, but it can only do so much. Leaving people to sleep in one room.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had to move people to another area of the building that we do have some air conditioning still going,\u201d Romack said.<\/p>\n But not everyone is so lucky to have a generator. Just outside along I-10, CPS listed at least 2,000 people without power. Speed-limit signs were knocked over, houses had tree branches in their yards, and traffic lights were without power on roads like San Pedro.<\/p>\n Five Points Association President Marcela Espinoza shared a picture of a house in her neighborhood on Camaron Street with a tree that fell on it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to clean up if you don\u2019t have electricity and you\u2019re suffering. There\u2019s heat stroke everywhere,\u201d said Espinoza.<\/p>\n Further west, the second floor of a building fell into West Commerce near Las Moras, with drivers carefully driving around it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s devastating for a community that\u2019s in so much need already,\u201d said Caitlin Sheridan, Director of the Encountering Change nonprofit.<\/p>\n Further down the street, Sheridan says their office, which will act as a food pantry, had a tree branch fall on the roof they were repairing before the storm. The branch cracked wooden beams inside, costing between $5,000 and $10,000.<\/p>\n \u201cThis really sets us back,\u201d Sheridan said.<\/p>\n Repairs at the shelter will cost at least half a million dollars, if not more. Salvation Army officials are reaching out to partner agencies and the community for donations<\/a>, but say it will not be fixed for at least several weeks. <\/p>\n