Even before the rain stopped falling, Facilities Management Services (FMS) was on site assessing the damage caused by last Friday's record downpour. Three days later, they are still working to fix the damage in Baker Hall.

Rain damage was not limited to Baker Hall; water also leaked into several other buildings, including Margaret Morrison Carnegie Hall and Wean Hall. Don Coffelt, director of facilities operations, said that Baker Hall was most affected, and that the rainwater caused comparatively little damage to the other buildings.

Coffelt's team has so far not determined the full cost of the damages.

"It's really premature to [determine the cost]," said Coffelt. "Right now, we're trying to assess the full extent of the damage."

According to Coffelt, Baker Hall's Giant Eagle Auditorium collected nearly four feet of water. The room has built-in pumps to deal with potential groundwater problems, but additional pumps were brought in Sunday to deal with the incredible volume of water. Since the room is so far below the surface, it is prone to groundwater problems.

"When you dig a hole that deep in Pittsburgh, you hit water," said Coffelt.

The bottom foot of the drywall has been cut from walls in the basement to allow forair circulation within the walls. The carpet has been treated with mildacide to prevent the formation of mold and mildew. Environmental, Health, and Safety will test for such growth before the walls are resealed.

The auditorium will remain closed while work is completed. Handicap lifts both there and in the spiral stairwell may also need repairs. Coffelt expects the auditorium to be closed for at least four weeks. The lounge area will open Tuesday. Classes have been relocated to other rooms indefinitely.

The flooding occurred after the city's storm water drainage system overflowed Friday, when a record 5.95 inches of rain fell. Water found its way through a doorway to Baker Hall A60, as well as the basement entryway from the outside. Groundwater also seeped into the building from underground.

Damage was widespread in Allegheny County, particularly in the municipalities of Bridgeville, Carnegie, Etna, Millvale, and South Fayette. Point State Park and much of the city's waterfront was underwater over the weekend.

Sunday night, President Bush declared 19 counties in Pennsylvania federal disaster areas, including Allegheny County. This means residents and businesses are eligible for government assistance like food stamps and low-interest business loans.

	story images

Facilites Management Services employees work to pump water from an outdoor stairwell down to Baker Hall A60.	Rainwater flows towards the basement.
Rainwater poured down the stairs from Baker Hall A60 to the basement lounge.	Looking down through the center of the spiral stairwell in Baker Hall, water is visible flowing into the lounge downstairs.
The lounge in the basement of Baker Hall filled with water as the remnants of Hurricane Ivan passed over Pittsburgh.	First-year Julia Brown stands in ankle-deep water Friday in the patio between Wean and Porter Halls.
First-year Borg Lojasiewicz slides down the Mall on Friday, September 18.	Water flows down the stairs in the Mall.
Water pours down the wall in a Wean Hall lounge.	Leaking water drips into the eighth floor of Wean Hall.