One of LA’s wettest days damages 11 campus buildings

Rain and flooding caused classes and tests to be canceled or moved to Zoom.

By SOYGUN ISMAYIL & DAVID RENDON
Downtown Los Angeles had over seven inches of rain in the past 24 hours as of 6 p.m. on Monday, making it one of the wettest days in L.A. history, KTLA reported. (Christina Chkarboul / Daily Trojan)

Eleven buildings on University Park Campus and Health Sciences Campus will need repairs to walls, ceilings and flooring, Facilities Planning and Management wrote in a statement to the Daily Trojan. Of the buildings, 10 are at UPC and one is at HSC.

“As of Monday, Facilities and Planning Management received a total of 216 rain-related calls for both campuses,” FPM wrote. “Crews are working to make repairs as quickly as possible.”


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The Andrus Gerontology Center experienced power outages Monday after water entered an electrical room and affected the electrical panels for the entire building. FPM electrical crews restored power that afternoon, according to the statement.

On Sunday, the National Weather Service announced a flash flood warning for the Los Angeles area, calling the situation “life-threatening.” The NWS advised residents to stay put unless evacuating. Downtown L.A. had over seven inches of rain in the past 24 hours as of 6 p.m. on Monday, making it one of the wettest days in L.A. history, KTLA reported.

The School of Architecture and most of the University’s dining halls weren’t immune to the rain: the buildings’ ceilings leaked and buckets stood around inside, filling with rainwater. 

Given how sudden the storm was, some professors scrambled to move their classes online and readjust their lesson plans to the new format. This caused some professors to reschedule tests, including midterms.

According to an email to the class, the critical weather situation pushed back the midterm for “General Biology: Organismal Biology and Evolution” from Tuesday to Thursday.

“This emergency decision has been taken to minimize commuting during this major rainstorm and guarantee students’ safety,” wrote Raffaella Ghittoni, associate professor of biological sciences, biochemistry and molecular medicine.

Camila Guzman, a freshman majoring in English, said she took two of her three classes over Zoom Monday in light of the weather conditions.

“My third professor insisted that the rain was not severe enough to cancel a class, so he made class in person today,” Guzman said. “However, he did offer the option of joining remotely via Zoom.” 

Natallie Shakeri, a junior majoring in health and the human sciences, felt mixed emotions about having classes over Zoom. On one hand, she was excited the midterm was pushed back, but on the other, she recognized that Zoom classes aren’t for her.

“I feel like I honestly learn better when I’m in person,” Shakeri said. “My classes are pretty long — they’re like two hours each. I would rather have them in person because it makes me feel more engaged.”

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