Small business owners in San Francisco with major flood damage could be eligible for thousands of dollars from the city after Mayor London Breed announced a new flood relief program.
The grants offer up to $5,000 for eligible small businesses located within the city's flood zones—mostly along low-lying areas of the eastern side of the city—and $2,000 for those located outside of the designated zones.
The past few weeks of storms have brought widespread power outages, flooding and even mudslides across the state and the Bay Area, leading the state and city to declare an emergency.
Insurance claims were already rolling in days into the storm, but few San Francisco home and business owners have shelled out for flood insurance.
“The severe weather we just experienced has impacted many of our small businesses and residents in heavily affected areas and these initial efforts will help as part of our City’s recovery,” Breed wrote in a press release.
The grants will be available starting Jan. 20 on a first-come, first-served basis and are for registered businesses with 100 or fewer employees and $5 million or less in gross revenue that have experienced storm-related damages since Dec. 27, 2022. Damages from wind or power outages are not eligible.