Officials and students at The University of Memphis have been treading water and bailing buckets after record-breaking rainfall drenched the Mid South this past week.
While the storm systems that dumped two days of continuous rain and caused numerous flash flood warnings began to dissipate last night, maintenance crews at The U of M and the city have found themselves knee-deep in problems caused by the steady rain.
The Department of Physical Plant and Planning at The U of M responded to numerous flooding, electric and plumbing problems at Manning Hall, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and parts of the sopping-wet South Campus.
The basements floors of the law building were flooded, and certain buildings on the South Campus lost power, according to Lori White, a physical plant employee.
White said the plant has a plan in which they routinely clean grates and gutters around campus. Areas like Hayden Hall are monitored frequently because of their high risk for flooding.
The plan, along with Work Control, local plumbing services and the campus custodial staff, has been working to clean the buildings and fix problems such as gas leaks and damage equipment caused by flooding since Wednesday morning.
“The Physical Plant has been working hard all night to make sure it is safe for students, faculty and staff,” said White.
White said the plant is responding to major calls first and that smaller problems should be sent to the physical plant e-mail address.
“Minor situations, like a leaky roof or toilet overflowing, will be addressed later,” said White.
The monsoon weather has also caused problems for residents and motorists in Memphis.
Some Memphians had to leave their drenched vehicles in the standing water, and they now can expect to pay for repairs.
At Hensley Auto Service Center, a Toyota truck was brought in for repair because water blasted the engine when it was driven through high water.
“We had to replace spark plugs and drain the oil from the truck so it could start again,” said Bobby Hensley, owner. “Until the crank case is drained, fresh oil is added and the fuel tanks are checked, a car won’t start after damage from water.”
Late-model vehicles can suffer electric and computer damage from being flooded, according to Hensley.
“Water will damage the computer’s brain and it must be drained to work again,” said Hensley.
Problems from the floods also affected neighborhoods.
Latanglia Douglas, a home-owner in Frayser, said her whole neighborhood on Lisa Street was flooded on Wednesday night.
“I couldn’t go to work that night because water submerged the road leading off my street,” said Douglas.
Douglas said the city needs to be more diligent about cleaning grates and gutters in order to prevent disasters.
“My neighbors and I clean our gutters, and I think that is wrong because that is the city’s job,” said Douglas.
Herman Adair, administrator of maintenance for the city, said the general maintenance crews are maintaining storm inlets and cleaning each rainy vent.
The public can help to prevent clogged gutters, vents, grates and inlets, according to Adair.
“People can bag leaves, dispose of trash neatly and call in any problems to city maintenance,” he said.
