The mighty current rushing down from Monday’s storm on High Street in San Luis Obispo showed no mercy to businesses such as Abbey Carpet and Floor.
“It was completely underwater, you couldn’t event see the speed bump, and the surrounding businesses kind of took the brunt of it. It looked like a river flowing down the street,” described Kaylen George, the owner of Abbey Carpet and Floor.
Cleaning up feels like a never-ending process. Workers shoveling layers and layers of mud from the driveway.
Inside the store, there are watermarks all over rolled up rugs, tiles, walls and carpet samples.
“A foot of water on a 4,000 square-foot warehouse that had its own little tide pools,” said George. “It was pretty insane; we’ve never seen something like this.”
In a video shared by Kaylen George, you can even hear the squishing sound of his footsteps in a floor still covered by water.
“We were guessing, hoping to be under $200,000 because we lost all inventory, we lost pretty much our whole showroom,” said George,
Even a couple days later, carpet samples, rugs and tiles still drenched in water.
“We’re taking it step by step, waiting to hear from insurance companies, the city’s fire department stopped by to see about disaster relief, so we’re all kind of on the same boat and trying to help each other out,” said George.
Workers hosed down the driveway to finish off the exterior cleanup process.
George is hoping his business is back in service in a week or so but for now, he is trying to stay positive.
“Keep smiling and help your neighbor,” said George.
