LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Businesses in the Las Vegas Arts District are cleaning up after Friday’s flooding, with some welcoming customers back and others remaining closed as they face repairs.
Shelly White, owner of Neon Desert, shared video showing water rushing along Commerce Street and into nearby shops.
“So we’re all watching the rain come down, and then just within minutes it just rose and started coming into the shops,” White said.
White said her shop’s raised entrance helped limit the damage. Other business owners told Channel 13 they closed for up to four hours, losing customers and sales.
For White, the flooding added to the challenges businesses have faced during nearby construction.
“It’s been a rough summer with all the construction to begin with and then to lose a whole day worth of business from the weather, none of us were expecting that at all,” she said.
According to the city of Las Vegas, storm drains under construction along Charleston Boulevard are designed to reduce flooding. Completion is expected next fall.
In the meantime, some businesses are asking the community for help recovering.
Jammyland, a downtown cocktail bar, remains closed. A sign outside the business asks for community support to help repair its roof and ceiling.
White is continuing to clean up and hopes shoppers will support businesses in the neighborhood as the holiday season approaches.
“We’re all small mom-and-pop shops down here, so coming out to support for the holiday season would be amazing to see shoppers come down and patron our businesses,” she said.
The storm also prompted emergency responses elsewhere in the valley.
Clark County Fire Department officials said crews responded to 10 vehicles stuck in water over the weekend. Three of those responses required crews to help occupants get out.
Shortly before 2 p.m. Friday, crews also responded to a report of two adults and a dog in a flooded wash near North Nellis and Winterwood boulevards. The group reached a nearby golf course, and neither adult required medical attention, officials said.
