Atkinson and Allen halls, along with other buildings on campus, were flooded following the harsh rains around 10 a.m. Wednesday, according to building directors Erica Hinyard and Richard Landry.
According to Hinyard, a drainage seal outside the doors of Atkinson broke, which led to the flooding.
Landry said the drainage well near the basement door of Allen was full of leaves, and the pumps did not activate when the water started to seep out of the well. Both Hinyard and Landry said they called Facility Services to fix the seal and well.
Kim Gardiner, Facility Services associate director, said he had calls to work on water issues in 10 to 15 other buildings Wednesday.
Creative writing senior Breann Sokol said she was not surprised Allen Hall flooded because it is a basement in Louisiana.
“It surprised me how much water there was; it was about two inches,” Sokol said. “And I did not see anyone cleaning it when I had class at 11 a.m.”
Elizabeth Coldiron, English junior, said her professor was surprised anyone showed up to class regardless of the amount of water sitting in the basement.
Though her actual classroom wasn’t flooded, Coldiron said she walked through “at least a few inches” of water on the way to class.
“When I walked down there, coming from the Quad side, there was water pretty much the whole way of me walking to class,” she said.
English junior Samantha Stevens also did not see anyone cleaning Allen when she had classes at 9:30 and 10:30 a.m.
“I’m aggravated it happened, but it was a quick storm,” Stevens said. “I do wish LSU would take more precautions when there was a torrential downpour.”
Coldiron agreed the University should do something to curb flooding in buildings.
“I’ve never seen [Allen Hall’s basement] flooded since I’ve been at LSU,” she said. “I was tiptoeing through the huge puddles.”
I do wish LSU would take more precautions when there was a torrential downpour.”
