At least four students have temporarily moved out of their room in Falls Hall on Moore Street as a result of a flooding incident on the fourth floor on Thursday, Sept. 12.
According to Jayme Blaschke, senior media relations manager, the flooding was caused by a shower left running overnight.
“Three rooms on the second and third floors were affected. The Department of Housing and Residential Life [DHRL] immediately contacted an external remediation firm which was on site within 24 hours to assess the damage,” Blaschke wrote in a statement to The Star.
Riley Sheldon, an education freshman who lives in room 301A in Falls Hall said she fell asleep on the floor Thursday night and woke up in a puddle of water on Friday, Sept. 13.
“[The water] was coming through our window but it hadn’t rained and then it was coming through the light fixture in the shower, in the vent in our bathroom and we could hear [the water] rushing through our walls,” Sheldon said.
When Sheldon and her roommate realized the water was coming from room 401 above them, they notified the fourth floor’s Resident Assistant (RA). The RA informed maintenance who began vacuuming the carpets outside the affected rooms and placed sandbags along the windows to stop the flooding. There was 1.5-2 inches of water in her room, Sheldon said.
Sheldon said she returned from Houston to her room on Sunday, Sept. 15 and saw the paint on the walls peeling off and bubbles forming.
“When I walked in that night I was hit with a very rotten smell, I got light-headed, my eyes started watering,” Sheldon said. “I have asthma and a severe allergy to mold so I was getting very sick.”
However, Blaschke wrote that no mold has been found as a result of the water incursion.
Maintenance tested Sheldon’s room for moisture on Wednesday, Sept. 18. DHRL sent Sheldon an email stating she would be relocated to a room by herself in San Marcos Hall Thursday, Sept. 19.
“The only thing that’s happening in our room in terms of fixing the situation is trying to clear up the moisture in our rooms so they’re using dehumidifiers,” Sheldon said.
Sheldon’s roommate Indye Williams, an elementary education freshman, has been relocated to a room in Sterry Hall with a freshman roommate.
Isabella Ramos, a business marketing freshman who lives in room 201A in Falls Hall, said water was pouring out of her bathroom’s light fixture and out the sides of her window on Sept. 12.
Similar to Sheldon, after returning to her dorm room on Sunday, Ramos began feeling sick.
“I felt a sore throat, I couldn’t breathe properly especially when I woke up. Going to sleep too I started coughing so much I had to leave the room a couple of times,” Ramos said.
DHRL sent an email to Ramos on Sept. 19 stating she would be relocated to Sayers Hall to a room with an RA. However, Ramos has opted to stay in a guest room in her sorority house instead.
“I was just surprised because most people… got roommates too but I was expecting it to be another freshman, not an RA, but it’s okay,” Ramos said.
Ramos’ roommate Stephanie Bermont, an elementary education freshman, has been relocated to Sterry Hall in a room with one freshman roommate.
All temporarily relocated freshmen were told they would be able to move back into their room in Falls Hall in the next week.
“The company will remove the affected drywall in the rooms to fully dry and treat them to prevent the possibility of future mold growth,” Blaschke wrote. “This process is expected to take approximately one week.”
Sheldon’s TV, surge protector, fan and sunset lamp sustained damage from the flooding. However, she said she took her damaged belongings home for the weekend to get them fixed.
“If any of the affected students have personal property that was damaged by the water incursion, Housing and Residential Life staff will work directly with them to facilitate the filing of renter’s insurance claims,” Blaschke wrote.
