At least 11 campus buildings flooded with rainwater as a historic rainstorm soaked USC for the third day in a row. The damage continues to cause class cancellations and closures across campus.
As of Monday, USC Facilities and Planning Management said they received 216 rain-related calls across both campuses. USC deployed maintenance crews to make repairs as quickly as possible.
According to USC Facilities and Planning Management, 11 buildings require extensive drying and repairs for walls, ceilings and floorings.
Affected UPC buildings include: Bridge Memorial Hall; the Physical Education building; Hoffman Hall of Business Administration; Kaprielian Hall; Denney Research Center; Alice and Eleonore Schoenfeld Symphonic Hall; Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Hydrocarbon Institute; Allan Hancock Foundation Building; Marks Tennis Stadium and Taper Hall of Humanities.
One Health Sciences Campus building, the Soto Street Building Annex, was also impacted.
Music Operations Director Marvin Munson said several Thornton classrooms suffered water damage Monday morning that rendered them unusable. Classes in the affected rooms were rescheduled for Zoom.
Munson said this rainfall is pushing the limits of old infrastructure. “It shows the flaws in buildings that haven’t had a lot of rain in a while, especially when they are getting older,” Munson said.
On Monday, USC reported severe power-related damages to the Andros Gerontology Center. Water entered the electrical room, disabling electrical panels for the entire building. A maintenance crew restored power the same afternoon, but other buildings continued to flood, according to Facilities and Planning Management.
Almira Shardarbekova, a senior majoring in music industry, discovered her class was canceled after driving to campus and braving a 15-minute walk.
“I had to make my way out in the rain only to find out the classroom was locked,” Shardarbekova said. “But I definitely prefer it being on Zoom while it’s raining because I have to make a transit here.”
Shardarbekova witnessed flooding in the Roski School of Art and Design. In addition to slippery floors, sinks and water utilities appeared to stop working.
“The infrastructure is underprepared for rain,” Shardarbekova said. “This is by no means intense.”
Over the weekend, Shardarbekova said she had to carry heavy gear and electrical equipment over slippery floors, which proved dangerous with indoor water intrusions and poor drainage outdoors.
Many USC buildings were built in the 1970s and 1980s, including the music complex which flooded and caused closures for the second year in a row.
“It has rained so little that a lot of the infrastructure that’s supposed to divert all that rainwater has not been tested,” Munson said. “Hopefully, the university can get it all fixed.”
In addition to education buildings, New North Residential Hall experienced light flooding in its stairwells. During heavy rains last year, water damage in Birnkrant Residential Hall caused part of the roof to collapse.
USC announced no operational changes on Sunday despite the declaration of a state of emergency by the city of Los Angeles.
According to NBC News, the atmospheric river is now responsible for the death of at least three people in California in addition to road closures, power outages and incessant flooding.