Flood Damages 15 Buildings; Hilles Forced to Close Down

Torrential thundershowers caused flooding in more than 15 buildings throughout the University last night as over two inches of rain fell in a two-and-a-half-hour storm.

Water drenched the lower level of Hilles Library, which was closed at about 8 p.m. after flooding broke the library's elevator machinery.

Winthrop House dining hall--which is situated below ground level--was reported to be under a foot of water with streams coming through the windows.

"It's going to go six feet if it keeps coming in the way its coming," the night superintendent at Winthrop said. He said he expected that the dining hall would be closed tomorrow.

The basements of all of the Radcliffe dorms were flooded, including several of the below-ground rooms in Currier House. Sewers around the Radcliffe Quad were clogged.

Two inches of water covered the floor of the Adams House kitchen, and the streets between Mt. Auburn St. and the Charles River became two-foot-deep rivers at times, with manhole covers lifted by the gushing water.

Flooding also damaged the air conditioning machinery in the International Legal Studies offices in Langdell Hall at the Law School.

Buildings and Grounds officials said last night that they would not be able to estimate the total cost of the damage until later this week.