Rainstorm floods seven dorm rooms

by Bryan Gibel

Daily Lobo

When student Katie Depalo hurried into her dorm to escape the rain Thursday, her room was flooded from water seeping through the ceiling.

"It was more than just a leak - it was catastrophic," she said. "It wasn't leaking from one place. It was leaking from everywhere."

Thursday's downpour flooded six rooms in Santa Ana Hall and one room in Santa Clara Hall, said Teresa Ortiz, Residence Life coordinator.

The room in Santa Clara flooded because a roof drain wasn't clamped properly, said Dupuy Bateman, director of Housing and Food Services.

He said the flooding in Santa Ana was caused by unfinished roof work.

"The contractors left the roof vulnerable. Obviously, there were leaks," Bateman said. "Electricians shut off circuits because the water could have affected the wiring. Smoke alarms were going off."

Students whose rooms were affected were given another dorm room to stay in for the night, Ortiz said.

She said one student stayed in his room because there were no single occupancy male rooms available.

Depalo said her belongings in her Santa Ana room were drenched.

"The room was already completely soaked," she said. "My carpet, my shoes and everything on the ground was wet. There was at least a half inch of water on the floor."

Contractors have been repairing Santa Ana's roof since a week before school started, Ortiz said.

The flooding didn't slow construction, which is scheduled to be finished next week, said Dupuy Bateman, director of Housing and Food Services.

Depalo said most of her property wasn't severely damaged because students in her dormitory tried to protect her stuff before she got back to her room.

"Fortunately, neighbors saved my computer," she said. "My DVD player is kind of screwed."

Student Steve Wills said the flooding ruined his printer and rug, but he got home in time to save most of his belongings.

"It rained like two minutes before I got here, and it was hurry-scurry trying to get everything off the floor," he said.

Damaged property will be replaced or paid for by the University, Bateman said.

A cell phone, a printer and a scanner were reported damaged or destroyed, he said.

Wills said he is worried that the flooding will cause more trouble.

"The problem that's going to happen now is a mold and fungus issue," he said.

Wills said Thursday's incident was the second time his dorm room has flooded.

None of the previous flooding was as widespread as Thursday's incident, Ortiz said.

Bateman said roofers worked all day Friday to ensure there wouldn't be another problem in Santa Ana.

The flooding didn't slow construction on the building, which is scheduled to be finished next week, he said.

Many of the dormitories are old, and the University is replacing roofs where necessary, Bateman said.

The roofs of the Student

Residence Center will be repaired next, although there isn't a projected start date, he said.

The University will take precautions to prevent flooding in the future, but there's no guarantee it will be successful, he said.

"I don't think you can say, until the roofing project is finished, that it can't happen again," he said.

Housing staff is on emergency call in case there is another problem,

he said.

Depalo said UNM did a great job taking care of her after the flooding.

But she wasn't taking any risks when it started to drizzle Friday.

She covered most of her valuables with plastic bags when she left

for work.

"I'm preparing for another flood," she said. "I'm scared. I'm really scared."

Depalo said Sunday night that the weekend rains did not flood

her dorm.