Flooding shuts Muni service for several hours, heavy rains to blame
SAN FRANCISCO - Heavy rain hit the Bay Area Saturday, soaking the streets and bringing a slew of problems.
One of those problems, getting from point A to B.
Water cascaded down the steps of Muni's underground Van Ness station Saturday afternoon.
Weather-related problems caused the transit operator to shut down the underground line from West Portal to Embarcadero, forcing passengers to find an alternative means to get downtown.
"We were going to take the train down to Embarcadero and take BART to Oakland because we're seeing a concert tonight and now we're not exactly sure what to do," said John Paul Barbheelata.
Muni provided shuttles as an alternative, but long lines and up to a 30-minute wait was a detterent for some.
"I'm supposed to be at work in like 45 minutes so pretty disruptive," said Monica Saint.
A brief video showed water shooting from a manhole just outside the West portal station this afternoon.
Some businesses in the area say they had to mop up water that got inside.
"It was like a river in the street," said," said Isabelle Malone.
The same thing happened at 9th and Judah where heavy rains caused flooding that crept inside some stores.
"This whole area was the worst, it was just like a whole, like just stepping out it would be like up to your ankle," said Malone.
Navigating the roadways was a wet, slippery ordeal.
At times the downpour had cars doing what every driver dreads.
"Hydroplane, very scary, but overall it's not too bad," said Benny Hung.
Backups getting onto Interstate 980 in Oakland weren't due to the crush of cars, but the wrath of the rain, which caused flooding that drivers had to navigate around.
"We went through a really sketchy area earlier. It was like a little mini pond. I got spooked really bad," said Brandon Estrada.