When Robert Ryan opened his Farmer Robert’s store, of all the things he thought that might go wrong in running the business, “a biblical-style flood” did not ever come to mind.

However, that’s exactly what happened last Tuesday, when a city water main beneath Waterfront Place off of Quartz Road broke near the fire hydrant.

The water flowing out of the broken main emerged at the store where the ground underneath and around the building was already thawed.

As Ryan told the Star Friday, water will move to the easiest access, and in this case, it was under the store.

An insurance adjuster from Calgary was set to arrive in Whitehorse this morning to look at the damage to the store, which has been forced to remain closed since the flood.

Ryan learned of the flooding thanks to a friend who was driving through the area Tuesday morning, saw the situation and called him to let him know water was coming out the doors of the store.

Ryan initially thought he had probably left the water on the day before. He rushed down to the store to find a much more serious situation.

The concrete in the store had risen so high from the water that he couldn’t open the front door.

It looked like something from an apocalyptic movie, he said.

He rushed around to the back to get in through another door.

Given the amount of water rushing out, it didn’t take long to realize it was not the water line to the store that was the problem, but something bigger.

“There was just water coming out from under (the building),”Ryan said, noting his shock when he came down to the site last Tuesday.

Insurance officials were contacted “quite swiftly,” Ryan said.

There was initially a bit of delay in getting inside the store because it was deemed unsafe to enter.

He eventually got the go-ahead to enter the building, where he was able to mop out a lot of the water.

A local cleanup crew has also since been there to work on the cleanup. City crews have continued to work on fixing the water main, with that job expected to be finished by the end of today.

Fortunately, there was not a huge loss of product due to requirements that most items be off the floor, Ryan said.

For the most part, it has been things like cardboard boxes and a couple of sacks of flour that were on the floor and destroyed by the flood.

He praised the shop’s neighbours for their help since the flood with making parking and space available to Farmer Robert’s.

As Ryan pointed out, the 600 chickens he has at home aren’t going to stop laying eggs the store normally sells just because it will be shut for a while.

Fortunately, Home Hardware and Haines Packing have offered space where Farmer Robert’s can store and sell its eggs. It’s just one example of the help all of their neighbours have offered up.

“Our neighbours have been really, really good,” Ryan said.

Loyal customers have also been coming through, posting supportive messages online and asking what they can do to help.

While there’s not a lot that can be done until insurance officials have looked at it and a repair plan is in place, Ryan said, he is grateful for all the support.