(U-WIRE) HOUSTON- Although the bulk of the post-Tropical Storm Allison cleanup is complete, the University of Houston is still assessing damages caused by the severe flooding that swept through campus on June 8.
The flood closed the campus for a week and forced more than 130 summer classes to relocate, as crews worked around the clock to establish some semblance of order.
“When the storm hit us it affected 90 out of 105 buildings,” Associate Vice President for Plant Operations Dave Irvin said. “We lost 17 of 20 electrical feeders. We’ve been able to make most of those repairs. A majority of the buildings will be up and providing services.”
The University used in-house and contracted labor to restore- and, in some cases, rebuild-the campus.
The initial restoration process involved having crews work 16- to 18-hour days just to re-open the campus by June 18. Crews are now working to put the finishing touches on affected buildings.
But the more severely damaged facilities-the UH Law Center, the UC Underground and the UC Satellite-will undergo repairs throughout the semester.
“We lost one-quarter of a million books (in the Law Center),” Irvin said. “It’ll cost $17 million to replace those books. Several floors were devastated, and key portions have to be entirely rebuilt.”
The Law Center may be open, but the University will use provisional “classroom villages” to house some of its services, namely two classrooms, Houston Law Review offices, law student organizations and a library.
The UC Underground and the UC Satellite, both of which took in tremendous amounts of water, will re-open in stages.
“The Satellite will probably take a little bit longer,” Irvin said. “We lost a lot of food-service equipment. We’re working closely with Chartwells in providing alternative food service.”
Initial estimates had the Satellite re-opening by mid-semester, but because of the extensive damage, the opening may be pushed back until spring semester, 2002.
Another village will be used for other displaced classes and services, many of which will be moved back throughout the semester. Located near the UC, that facility will be used for computer labs and a writing center, staff from the art, communications and Veterans Affairs departments and six classrooms.
Ongoing restoration efforts include replacing and repairing furniture, decontaminating, emergency repairs, dehumidification, removal of asbestos and developing preventative plans. While the University has a “hard cost”-now $125 million-for these repairs, UH President Arthur K. Smith has said that it could take several years before the final losses can be determined.
“It does not include the huge cost of in-house labor,” Irvin said. “There was architectural damage in just about every building.”
The current estimate does not include lost research, lost income from conferences that had to be canceled and other lost revenue, which could exceed the $125 million figure.
Of that, $25 million is currently covered by insurance, though the University is still working with its insurance underwriters and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to offset more of the costs.
The residence halls are still undergoing minor repairs, including annual maintenance work, which was put on hold during the flood recovery.
About 350 residents living on campus during the summer were affected in some way. Some students residing in Cougar Place had to be relocated as repairs-and demolitions-took place.
