By Alex Gaughan
Partially sunken buildings and dozens of drowning vehicles suggested that the Aug. 4 floodwater was an unwelcome visitor to the Belknap campus.
YouTube videos taken after the storm show Eastern Parkway arching over a completely submerged Third Street. Other videos show debris floating through more than 30 inches of rapids.
Facing short deadlines and critical registration periods, the university has developed a plan to restore the Belknap campus, and make renovations to prevent flooding problems in the future.
Before those renovations take place, an extensive cleanup process is required to restore complete functionality to the School of Public Health, the School of Music, the College of Education, University Club, the Student Health building, Houchens building, Crawford Gym and the Chemistry building, which all experienced water damage during the flood. In total, 90 buildings were damaged, according to university officials.
“We’re down to four buildings that are still not in use,” said John Drees, University of Louisville spokesman. “The university and physical plant have done an amazing job getting the university back online.”
Dozens of offices, classrooms and service centers have been relocated due to the flood. While classroom activity is not expected to be interrupted, some faculty, staff and students will be forced to use interim offices and classrooms while restoration continues throughout campus.
“We’re looking at the buildings to see what needs to be done. [We are] hiring consultants and structural engineers to assess how water accessed buildings on a case-by-case basis for the next several weeks,” said Larry Owsley, Vice President of Business Affairs.
The College of Education had nine inches of standing water in the mechanical room and suffered a diesel fuel spill leaving 300 gallons of the combustible liquid uncontained. According to Owsley, water came through the underground tunnel and blew open the doors to the College of Education building. An environmental company siphoned the fuel from the water and carried it off in a tanker.
The Public Health building on the Health Sciences campus had 14 inches of standing water, but will require the most renovations because of its position on the campus and prior floods.
“The School of Public Health will be first priority. It is most vulnerable to future flooding and we do not have as much experience with it [because it was recently acquired],” said Owsley.
Anytime an event such as the flood occurs, the university schedules a review to discuss recovery and prevention. Past reviews have led to improvements to the College of Business and the School of Engineering. Because of these improvements, the School of Engineering did not experience flooding.
Funding for recovery will come from the university’s insurance policy. If there is a remaining balance, U of L may be eligible for funding through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, which covers 75 percent of emergency claims.
While the College of Education is not expected to be fully restored until October, other buildings are anticipated to return to normal functionality in the next couple weeks. College of Business has a target date of Sept. 15, and the Crawford Gym, University Club, and Chemistry buildings will be able to reopen by the end of August.
