By Roxy Osborne

The south wing of Kurz Hall, located at 1900 S. Fourth St, flooded Wednesday, Aug. 26. Eighty-five residents were forced to relocate to different University of Louisville dormitories. All three floors of the south wing were affected.

According to university spokesperson John Karman, a domestic water line supply failure occurred during repair work by a private contractor. Karman said students are expected to be displaced anywhere from four days to two weeks.

Ava Lunsford, a U of L student who lives in Kurz, was affected by the flood. She received an email about the incident around noon.

“There was chaos everywhere,” she said. “I had cameras on the floor that got wet. One of them was Professor [Ralph] Merkel’s.”

Merkel’s camera was stored in a waterproof case and was not damaged.

Lunsford’s roommate, Aliza Wilson, also detailed her initial experience with the flood.

“The burst happened directly above my room, so I was hit very hard,” said Wilson. “My ceiling light fell off while I was in the room and splashed brown water everywhere.”

Residents walk through fallen ceiling tiles on the third floor of Kurz Hall, Aug. 26, 2026. (Video Courtesy / Ava Lunsford)

Olivia Bowers, another affected student living on the second floor, said that communication regarding relocation was unclear.

“The night it happened, I ran into my resident assistant and she [gave me my relocation room in Kurz],” Bowers said. “It’s a little frustrating because if I had not run into her, I wouldn’t have known where I was staying until the next day when I got an email around lunch time.”

Relocations emails for all residents were not sent out until around 11 a.m. the next day.

Wilson also received her relocation from an RA that night at 8 p.m. While moving her belongings, she said bystanders surrounded her dormitory.

“As I was trying to pack my valuables, I looked up to see a gaggle of random students with their phones out taking photos and recording me and my room,” said Wilson. “Our dorm rooms were left open as workers had to get in and out because of all the water, but some students seemed to take advantage of it.”

Fans are lined along a second-floor hallway in Kurz Hall following a late-August building flood that has left 85 students temporarily displaced. (Photo by Vinny Porco / The Louisville Cardinal)

The contractor gave affected occupants $50 in flex points as a goodwill gesture, according to Karman.

Wilson was dissatisfied with the amount.

“I personally do not feel like that equates to the distress this incident caused or the weeks of uncertainty living in temporary housing,” she said.

For Bowers, navigating the uncertainty has allowed for community building.

“[My RA] created a group chat of all the displaced students and we’ve been giving each other encouragement,” said Bowers. “People who don’t even live in Kurz showed up with bins and towels.”

Lunsford, Wilson and Bowers have not been given a date to move to their original housing units.

Karman said that affected students can file renter’s insurance claims and email housing@louisville.edu for further support.

Feature Photo by Jai’Michael Anderson / The Louisville Cardinal