The flooding in Pelican Apartments impacted five out of the building’s seven stories.
Courtesy of Amanda Weakley.
By Aubrey Carr
Students at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus were woken to a shock when they noticed water flooding dorms in the Pelican Apartments residence hall.
On Oct. 6, the St. Petersburg Housing department was made aware of a clogged toilet on the fifth floor of the building. The toilet overflowed, flooding the room and the floors below it.
Student rooms on the fifth, fourth and third floors were impacted, with further flooding in IT closets through the first floor.
“A water damage repair and restoration company was called out immediately to respond to the situation,” said Susan Kimbrough, Director of Housing and Residential Education for the St. Petersburg campus.
“The University’s Facilities team, HRE team and the Atalian custodial team have also worked diligently to restore the affected areas so that displaced students can return to their apartments as quickly as possible,” she said.
Kimbrough said the housing team are appreciative of the support seen from students during the flooding.
“We want to thank everyone who responded to help out that day and also to express gratitude to our residential students for their understanding and cooperation during a very challenging situation,” Kimbrough said.
Amanda Weakley, a student on the fourth floor, said water began seeping from her bathroom in the middle night, awakening the dorm.
Courtesy of Amanda Weakley.
“I was woken up by my roommate at 4:30 a.m. with her saying that the bathroom was leaking. There was about an inch of water around the toilet and water falling from the ceiling,” she said.
There was about an inch of water around the toilet & water falling from the ceiling… It seeped out from underneath the baseboards, above the kitchen sink and eventually from both bathroom ceilings,” Weakley said.
Unlike some residents impacted, Weakley and her roommates stayed in their room amidst repairs but were told that emergency housing was available if the damage was too severe.
“What [housing] did decide to do though, was rip up all of the baseboards, take a ceiling tile out, and install insanely loud industrial fans around our dorm for about a week after,” Weakley said.
While housing was quick to begin repairing the dorm, Weakley says updates since then have stalled.
“I feel that housing handled it within a timely manner at first, the fans were installed within five hours of the first signs of water damage. Now, however, it’s been a few weeks and we’ve gotten no additional updates from the housing department about replacing the baseboards or fixing the ceiling tile,” she said.
Thalia Lafaille, a student who lived in the dorm where the flooding originated, said the damage was extensive. “The water moved from me and my two roommates’ room to the kitchen, then to our suitemates’ room, then outside of our dorm in the hallway, then in front of the common room, then near the elevators and finally near the fifth floor emergency room,” she said.
“The things under everyone’s beds were either wet or soaked. Our dorm had a foul smell for a week or so. Housing told us that it was the most severe flooding they’ve ever had,” Lafaille said.
Lafaille and her roommates were moved to alternative accommodations throughout the campus and are still there.
“It’s been three weeks since the incident. I hope to return to my dorm with my roommates before the semester ends,” she said.
