From Feb 4 to Feb. 6, rain poured over Northeast LA; by Monday, rainfall in downtown LA made up seven inches, or 49 percent of the average total rainfall for LA year-round. According to press releases from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), thousands experienced power outages due to the rain.
ROCK Coffee House on Townsend Ave saw a drop in customers, according to barista Isabel Montanez, who worked while the storm soaked Eagle Rock, and said there were typically five customers in the morning and ten in total those days.
“We adjusted to the weather as best as we could, but there were some dead hours because of it,” Montanez said.
Rock Coffee House relies on its frequent customers and weekdays usually bring in a crowd of students either rushing to or from school, according to Montanez.
After the storm, Montanez said the morning and lunch rush returned.
“Business flowed right back in,” Montanez said.
Montanez said that the rain was a larger problem last year with their leaky roof. According to her, repairs have held the roof up against the barrage of rain damage to the furniture and floors of the coffee house.
Similarly, for the Eagle Rock branch of the Los Angeles Public Library, the rainy days were expectedly slow, according to librarian Caitlin Quinn.
Apart from providing access to books, the library functions as a public space and shelter which was interrupted by the rain.
“There are kids who consistently come after school, since this is where their parents meet them,” Quinn said.
According to Quinn, some students continued to slip in equipped with umbrellas and ponchos on the rainiest days.
“Some unhoused folks are coming to the library to stay dry, stay warm, get clean drinking water or use the charging station,” Quinn said.
According to Quinn, the relentless storm battered the library over the course of last week, with one leak leaving a noticeable stain on the roof next to the window. Near the back of the main hall, a small trash bin stood on top of a desk to collect remaining rainwater, Quinn said. According to Quinn, two public computers were out of commission due to water exposure, while another librarian revealed that the hole had been there for months.
“The infrastructure is not prepared for this,” Quinn said.
According to Craig Cowie, owner of the Baller Hardware branch on York Blvd, customers shopped for roof patches, caulking guns, ponchos, sand, sandbags and tarps in preparation for the rain.
“Tarps were our number one item that we are selling before the storm,” Cowie said. “We were competitive with the big stores because of our prices.”
According to Cowie, rains like these weren’t the norm up until last year.
“There was just a tremendous amount of rain [last year],” Cowie said.
According to Cowie, him and his wife encountered their own commuting struggles in figuring out how to traverse across Big Tujunga as the nearby creek churned with the weather. He said that the storm kept customers away momentarily.
“After the storm, people were coming in as usual to do make up shopping,” Cowie said.
Cowie said he advises residents in Eagle Rock to be prepared for extreme weather by acting quickly.
“Water is a powerful force,” Cowie said.
Contact Joaquin Martinez at jmartinez7@oxy.edu
