Flooding Affects East River Hall

The first floor of East River Hall is undergoing repairs after being flooded by water from a blocked storm drain near the building.

According to Bluefield College president Dr. David Olive, the storm drain was blocked due to lack of maintenance from the municipal station, which caused the sewer to back up into East River Hall, one of BC’s newest residence facilities. Dr. Olive said nearly 85 percent of the first floor was affected by the flooding.

“We have requested a meeting with the director of the Sanitation Department to discuss how this can be avoided in the future.” Dr. Olive said about the measures being taken to avoid future occurrences. 

The flooding caused $135,000 in damages, but according to Dr. Olive the Sanitation Department will likely will be partly responsible for payment to the insurance company.

Fortunately, only four students were impacted by the flooding, needing to be relocated after the incident. All other rooms on the first floor were vacant as they were being held for quarantined students. 

Currently, the impacted areas are being repaired, including the reconstruction of damaged walls and the replacement of damaged carpet.

“We hope to have everything opened back up by the end of October,” Dr. Olive said.