Senior accounting major Shannon Bryant was caught off guard when told on check-in day that she was one of 70 students who would not be able to move into their Suite E dorm due to unexpected flooding.

“They told me I wouldn’t have access to my room for two weeks to a months time” said Bryant.

On Friday, August 15 at approximately 2:00 p.m. a contractor was working on an air conditioning issue in the attic of Suite E, when he accidentally kicked and broke a sprinkler supply line resulting in a flood that damaged ceilings, walls, and floors.

Floors one through three were affected. Six suites were damaged and nine other suites were closed due to the power outage necessary for repairs to that section of the building. Rooms were shut down while repairs were being made, and other rooms were closed simply because they shared the same power grid as the hallways who were affected by the flood.

Bryant, an out of state student from Maryland was told her temporary housing will be at the Marriott hotel located in downtown Greensboro.

“They didn’t go into detail but they said the water damaged the walls and that they had to knock the walls down,” said Bryant, who did not receive an email or call about the situation prior.

“Turn off the water, make the necessary contacts,” said Dr. Melody Pierce, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, when describing the emergency management plan. 

Pierce is very familiar with handling crisis such as this one. In January of this year a similar situation occurred in Morrison Residence Hall, when a pipe randomly burst resulting in an execution of the emergency plan.

Once the disaster recovery company was contacted the main focus was removing the water, debris and drying out the area to prevent mold.

On the day the flood occurred, residence hall staff met with students who were already moved in, a second meeting occurred on August 16, 2014. Residence hall staff followed up with students via email and letters.

With lines of communication forever changing it was hard to get into contact with all students, however upon arrival students and parents were notified, and services ranging from storage to transportation were provided free of charge.

“We all handled it well and were able to communicate with parents,” said Linda Inman, executive director of Housing and Residence Life.

On last Friday five suites were ready, permitting 20 students to move back in the residence hall.

This past weekend all students were allowed to move back into their suites with the help of a moving team provided by the university.

The recent flooding in Suite E was an accident, however to ensure future floodings are prevented Residence Life will like to educate students on the importance of toilet overflows. A lot of overflows are caused by students flushing food, weave, excessive toilet paper, tampons sanitary napkins and other non-flushable items.

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• Meagan Jordan Editor in Chief