Come hail and high water:
NAU assessing storm damage

The unprecedented storm that hit NAU on Monday left a lot of water and bit of chaos in its wake.

View photos from the storm.

More than 4 inches of rain and hail in a brief period of time was measured on campus. Water seeped into many buildings on campus—some more than others—but the majority of damage was on south campus.

Du Bois Center and the Social and Behavioral Sciences building had more than a foot of water. The storm affected some IT services in SBS and Forestry and some phone disruption was reported throughout south campus. ITS anticipates any internet disruptions to be resolved by the end of today.

Some employees on south campus and in the Babbitt Administrative Center may notice sporadic disruption of phone service as mud and wires are cleaned and replaced. If your phone is out for more than an hour, notify the Solution Center at 523-1511 or Ask-ITS@nau.edu.

Cars near Rolle Activity Center and the Skydome were damaged as vehicles and walls acted as dams and the water swelled to several feet.

On central campus, the retention basin in front of the ARD building overflowed into University Drive where police were dispatched to handle traffic.

Water also seeped into the dining area under construction in the University Union, damaging some drywall and tiles. The damage to the union may cause a one-day delay to the reopening of the dining area.

"We're doing what it takes to fix any problems," said Rich Bowen, associate vice president for economic development. "We will be ready for students."

Six residence halls on campus experienced "moderate" flooding, according to Joe DeMichele, associate director for Residence Life facilities.

"Our great team here really worked together to handle any flooding as soon as possible," he said. "Most problems were initially responded to within 15 minutes to begin the clean-up process. Overall we were pretty fortunate."

DeMichele said three families were relocated from Campus Heights for three days due to flooding, but it was business as usual in other NAU living quarters.

The Capital Assets and Services, staff members from across campus and outside contractors quickly responded to the storm waters, preventing even further damage.

Cost estimates of the storm damage are pending.