Heavy rainfall causes leaks, flooding

Amanda Garrett

After a day of heavy rainfall, Kent State experienced some flooding and water damage.

The most significant incident was limited flooding Tuesday evening in Heer Hall. No one was injured in the incident and no significant damage was reported, said Scott Rainone, assistant director of university media relations.

The short wing of Heer was filled with about two inches of water by 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Residence Services Director Betsy Joseph said. It took until about 12:45 a.m. for maintenance workers to pump the water out of the building.

The 12 affected residents who live in Heer were evacuated, Joseph said. Residence Services offered rooms in the temporary housing that has been set up in lounges, but most students opted to spend the night with friends or family.

Students were able to move back into Heer yesterday afternoon, Joseph said. Carpets were still slightly damp because of the humidity, but everything else appeared undamaged.

The cause of the flooding appears to be the heavy rain Hurricane Katrina dumped on Kent, Rainone said. Residence Services is working with Campus Environment and Operations and the Office of the University Architect to prevent further flooding in the building, Joseph said.

Other incidents include flooding in front of Williams Hall and a leak on the first floor of Taylor Hall, said Michael McDonald, director of Campus Environment and Operations.

“For the amount of rain we had, we didn’t experience very significant flooding,” he said.

—Amanda Garrett