Floods soak three buildings

Rice, Harkness and Asia House see life from a fishbowl

Relentless rain drenched Oberlin last Thursday night, leaving a few unprepared buildings with temporary swimming facilities.

According to Facilities Manager Sal Filardi, a drain outside Harkness was discovered clogged with leaves Friday morning after the floor of the brand new kitchen and carpet in the dining room were found flooded. In an attempt to restore the kitchen to its pre-flood state, the floor was mopped and the carpet cleaned and dried. To prevent any future problems of this nature, a grate will be installed over the drain to catch the leaves, but a flood could conceivably take place again during an ice storm.

Rice Hall also fell victim to the downpour due to the renovations it is currently under-going. The piping that runs from the gutter to the drain had been removed for cleaning purposes, and had not been replaced. The contractor working on the building was reprimanded for this negligence, and the system has since been fixed with temporary piping.

The waterfall also crept into Asia house, raising the level of the already flooded basement as well as adding to the water damage on the ceiling of the library and lounge.

A resident from Asia house commented that the six inches of standing water on the basement floor proves to be a constant annoyance. "It's a safety hazard and it breeds mosquitos," the resident said. With the additional rain, even the doors by the co-op area flooded.

According to Ehrai Adams, Interim Assistant Dean of Students/Residential Life and Services, leaks and floods are a recurring problem at Asia house Although service requests were submitted weeks ago to Larry Gibson, Interim Assistant Director of Residential Life and Facilities, there has been no change. Because the area is so far below the water table, the flooding remains both anticipated and inevitable.

Due to the fact that floods have been known to occur in Dascomb as well, the roof was replaced this past summer. According to Alison Carter, the dorm's Residential Coordinator and House Manager, it was not affected by the rain.

Filardi said the monetary damage from the flooding was minimal, although books that were on the floor in some of the offices may have been ruined. He also claims that it is "Highly unlikely that we see the same thing happen again - at least not for the same reasons." Meanwhile, Gibson expressed similar sentiments, predicting that the Thursday night floods would be an isolated incident.