Southwest delays snowball into disaster

Furthermore, infrastructure in San Francisco and surrounding counties were unprepared for the storm; the city experienced 12 inches of rain and up to 46 million dollars in infrastructure damage.

Much of the flooding was due to the city’s drain backup. The city’s sewage system combines raw sewage and stormwater runoff into a single line prone to “system-wide backups,” according to SF Gate.

In response to the city-wide impairment, San Francisco released the ‘Flood Relief Programs to Support Small Businesses and Residents’ program on Jan. 17 which offers thousands of dollars in relief for those who qualify.

One of the buildings affected by blocked drains was the home of upper school science teacher Jeremy Jacquot. Jacquot's first floor became flooded with "several inches" of water, primarily runoff from a nearby hill that had a clogged, city-maintained drainage canal.

Similarly, upper school math teacher Veena Krishnan’s condo in Foster City was severely water damaged. Krishnan, who does not

Bad weather and outdated systems led to widespread flight chaos over winter break

A cataclysmic Southwest Airlines meltdown over winter break caused delays and cancellations, stranded thousands of passengers, and ultimately cost the airline roughly $1 billion.

In late December, winter storms battered the airline industry; at its peak, one-quarter of flights nationwide were canceled on Dec. 23.

Although most airlines were quickly able to resume normal service, Southwest’s antiquated computer systems made it difficult to efficiently match crew and passengers to new flights, an issue that quickly snowballed.

Noah S. ’24 traveled to Arizona over break with his family. When they arrived at the airport for their return flight to San Francisco, they noticed the rental car line was unusually long.

“We were really confused,” Noah said. “We should have caught the red flags there.”

It wasn’t until his family entered the airport that they realized their Southwest flight, along with thousands of other westbound flights, was canceled. Prices of remaining tickets skyrocketed, with some even reaching $5,000 one-way, Sagum recalled, because they had to make so many stops to pick up stranded passengers.

Eventually, Noah's family booked a hotel and rented a car to make the 16-hour drive back to California the next day.

“There was some general frustration and disappointment,” Noah said, as his family had to cancel plans to celebrate the New Year in Los Angeles. “But after all this, we [were] probably all going to be super tired. I don't think we [would] want to travel anymore anyways.”

Upper school English teacher Jonathan Quick planned to fly to Houston with his family of five on Christmas. They waited in the San Jose airport for over five hours before the flight was finally canceled.

Quick described the airport as a scene of “slightly heightened feverishness” as travelers grappled with disruptions.

“A lot of people were sitting on the floors and huddled in little clusters,” Quick said. “You could tell something could easily tip the balance.”

With three young children and limited options, Quick’s family decided to stay home and cancel their trip altogether. Despite the hiccups, Quick remains “a fan of Southwest.”

“Yes, it was disappointing, but I'm also rooting for Southwest to recover,” Quick said. “I'm curious to see what kind of changes are made in airline travel moving forward.” have flood insurance, wishes for “more county-level resources” on the official county website.

“I wish Foster City [would release] a list of available lawyers to check what home damages are covered by insurance and whatnot,” Krishnan said. “It would take pressure off people who are in a limbo zone of uncertainty financially and don't quite know what’s going on.”

Another form of financial support offered to affected residents has been through community fundraisers.

For San Mateo county, which includes Foster City, San Mateo Councilwoman Amourence Lee set up a Go-Fund-Me on Jan. 6 seeking citizen contributions, ultimately raising over $55 thousand dollars for flood victims, according to Lee’s official website.

“I fully trust that [Lee] finds flood relief to be one of the most pressing issues right now,” said Olivia C. ‘24, a student intern for Lee.

As counties and community members are left to pick up the pieces of this last flooding event, our community is forced to recognize the consequences of an unprepared crisis.

FLIGHT FALLOUT Southwest utilizes a unique flight model that bypasses "hub" airports in order to offer more nonstop routes. However, this made it difficult to connect crew with flights and contributed to the domino effect that affected thousands of travelers.