“It took just three minutes to destroy my cafe,” said entrepreneur Sami Gumus who vowed the floods would not deter him from reopening.
Staff were getting ready to open up the Broccoli cafe in Hornsey Road last Monday (August 8), just before a wall of water gushed in.
Mr Gumi was alerted by the unusual behaviour of a motorist on the busy road outside when the water main burst at the junction with Tollington Road and Seven Sisters Road.
“We were setting out tables when I saw the first water," he said.
"I saw a car stop when there was no traffic and then it started reversing. I went inside and shut the door. The water started rising. Our sandwiches were floating on the water.”
“From 7am when I saw it to three minutes past it was through.”
Water swept through through, destroying its wooden floor.
Now businesses are busy meeting loss adjusters and clean up companies as they count the cost of the flood.
The water level came to about three feet inside Broccoli, and Halil Gumus recalled his concerns when electric wires started sparking in the kitchen.
His boss Sami said: “This is my livelihood, this is my children’s future.
"It’s my first business and we put our wedding gifts into it to give us a little head start. We have tried to build a customer base.”
He plans to rebuild the business and said he was thankful that no one in the community was hurt by the flood.
Specialist flood assessment and cleaning companies are now working with businesses and residents to help deal with the damage.
Loss adjustment experts working for Thames Water have also been visiting companies and homes and have been at the Emmanuel Church which was used as an emergency centre for residents.
Thames Water said it is working with at least 70 affected properties and it has put some people up in hotels because of the impact on their homes.
Staff at the water company have contacted most affected residents and businesses, and urged anyone they have not been able to reach to get in touch.
The company apologised for what happened and a spokesperson said: “We realise that it has had a significant impact on residents in the area, and we are working hard with all stakeholders, especially local residents to support them in their time of need.”
Near Broccoli, two quick-thinking residents Yolanda and Micklos spent four hours scooping up flood water.
Yolanda was at home alone when water lapped around the door and recalled searching on the internet for tips on making flood barriers.
They built a dam out of sheets under the door, and also bought sandbags from a DIY store.
“We were scooping water into a dustpan and we emptied at least 25 buckets of water,” they said.
Once the floodwater had abated they spotted neighbours drying possessions outside in the hot summer sun.
One mother recalled how firefighters carried her two young children from the Harvist estate to the Tollington pub nearby for respite, where landlord Steven Walker said he woke up early and spotted the flood water “and the sound of a river.”
The children’s mother said: “The water was just below my knee. It was cold as well. As soon as they turned off the water it was like someone pulled the plug out of the bath. It just went away. You would not have thought anything had happened.”
She said there is some water damage to carpets and flooring at the entrance to her flat.
Islington council leader Kaya Comer-Schwartz wants Thames Water to prevent similar leaks ever happening again.
The flood has left some residents and businesses facing “lasting damage”, she said.
The clear up at the Sobell Leisure Centre continues, and part of it may be shut for a “significant period of time” to fix the damage following the flood's “severe impact”, according to Cllr Comer-Schwartz.
She said this was disappointing, as the council’s busiest leisure centre had been offering lots of activities for families during this hot summer holiday.
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