April showers bring May flowers. But, at least at Yale, March showers bring leaky ceilings.
Monday’s rainy weather saw no end on Tuesday, and while students tried to keep dry outside with raincoats, umbrellas and galoshes, some weren’t so lucky when they sought respite indoors: All around campus, from dorm rooms to dining halls, students reported leaking ceilings amid a rainstorm that caused Gov. M. Jodi Rell to declare a state of emergency. As of 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, the Office of Facilities had received a total of 22 leak complaints from within the 12 residential colleges alone, according to the office’s Web site.
“There was a leak in Payne Whitney,” Marissa Caan ’13 said. “I just wanted to work out. It really put a damper on my day.”
Even some of Yale’s newest facilities were deluged on Tuesday. Despite a renovation completed a little over a year ago, the basement of Jonathan Edwards College sustained considerable water damage. As suggested by water restoration companies, taking immediate action is a must. The area near the art gallery was flooded, and the library and suites in entryway L also saw leaks.
Ian Hobbs, the facilities manager for Jonathan Edwards, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
A representative from facilities confirmed the weather had brought his department a range of problems, calling the storm “an extreme situation.”
Several dining halls were also waterlogged. A sign posted at the card swipe station in the Branford College dining hall Tuesday said the Branford “Pit,” a small room in the back of the dining hall, was unusable due to flooding.
Small leaks, too, were problematic in some colleges.
“The roof was leaking onto one of the Saybrook dining hall tables,” Stacey Chen ’13 said. “It was inconvenient. I was there for a good three hours studying.”
Many students saw water damage in their own dorm rooms. When facilities representatives came to the Lanman-Wright Hall suite of Ana del Toro ’13, she said they could not fix the leaking ceiling, and instead put out buckets to collect the falling raindrops.
Water damage can get worse over time if it is not taken care of right away. A professional water damage restoration company can help you get your home or business back to normal.
The facilities representative, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the facilities team was doing its best to deal with the many complaints it received Tuesday.
Despite the problems caused by the weather, some students tried to make the best of the situation. Toro, for instance, said her suitemate was “quite happy” that the plants on her windowsill were getting water.
Piersonite Michael Quist ’13, who lives in the notoriously shabby Lanman-Wright Hall, also said he was keeping things in perspective.
“Being in L-Dub, we’ve been through much worse things,” he said.