The incessant rain of the last two days has caused buildings all across the Medford/Somerville campus to flood extensively, and facilities workers have been trying to manage the effects.
Students in residences across campus yesterday notified authorities of heavy flooding caused by the rain that began Saturday morning and continued through Sunday.
"There's a number of building that are taking on water," John King, senior director of public and environmental safety, said. "[The Department of Public and Environmental Safety] received several calls during [Saturday night] from students reporting water coming in their windows."
King mentioned Lewis and Haskell Halls as two dorms that have experienced flooding problems.
Residents of Wren Hall and Latin Way have also complained of flooding in the buildings.
King said that extra staff members came in to work on problems caused by the rain. "They are continuing to work throughout [Sunday] and into [Sunday night]."
Additional staff from the department also came in to field phone calls from students complaining about flooding.
Richard Reynolds, interim vice president for operations in the Facilities Department, said that workers on campus have been trying to contain the effects of the rain.
"We've got crews on campus trying to mitigate, but while it's still raining and blowing, there's nothing we can really do," he said.
Reynolds added that the nature of the rainstorm exacerbated the flooding problem.
"Most of the damage is because of wind−driven rain," he said. "The horizontal movement attacks the walls. You don't know what it's going to do, and that's what makes it so crazy. It's not just normal roof leakage. The wind drives it through the cracks in the walls."
Non−residential buildings have also been affected by the flooding. According to Reynolds, the Facilities Department has also responded to water leakages in Bendetson Hall as well as in Granoff Music Center and Aidekman Arts Center.
The department has sought the services of an external provider to manage the flooding in Granoff and Aidekman and to help abate groundwater accumulation in the basement and ground floors.
"[We] decided to bring in an outside company with major pumping capabilities … and air−dry blowers," Reynolds said.
He added that no instruments were damaged despite groundwater coming in through the areas around pipes but that "flooring is going to be a problem."
"We're just trying to keep even," Reynolds said.
Meredith Packer, a freshman who witnessed the flooding in the music buildings, described the scene.
"There was standing water everywhere in the practice rooms, in the hallways," she said. "It was probably as deep as one inch in some places. When I got there they were vacuuming everything out."
The light fixture in the ceiling over the kitchen at 45 Sawyer Ave. fell yesterday morning as a result of water coming into the room above the kitchen.
"We woke up and it was kind of flooded," Frances Wilburn, a sophomore living in the house, said. "A bunch of water had been coming in from the ceiling."
Staff from the Facilities Department came to the house to remove the water, but that did not stop the collapse of the light fixture later in the morning.
"We heard this huge crashing noise … and the light fixture and the ceiling tiles all around it fell from the ceiling," Wilburn said.
Reynolds said that a diverter has been set up in the house to collect additional water. "When it stops raining, we can start a vacuum and start putting in pumps where we can."
Andressa Osta, a sophomore living in Latin Way, said her suite was being inundated with rainwater.
"Our rooms are flooding; we're not exactly sure where it's coming from," she said. "At least three of the rooms in my suite have water coming in. Even the staircase is completely flooded. We've all put our stuff in the hallway, and I put some towels in my room, but there's really nothing we can do."
Osta said that she and her suitemates contacted Tufts University Police Department (TUPD), but the staff responding could not really solve the problem.
"They took a while to come because they've been dealing with a lot of other stuff on campus," she said. "[Facilities] sent a guy in with a [vacuum], and they vacuumed the water. My friend said the minute they moved on from her room and moved to the next room, there was already a puddle under her bed."
King added that the city of Medford yesterday was pumping out sections of Boston Avenue that flooded after a storm drain clogged.
The Office of Residential Life and Learning and TUPD could not be reached for comment.
