Record levels of rainfall pack a punch

Record-breaking rainfall has resulted in more than soggy shoes
and bad moods. It’s also brought on flooding, property damage
and other problems at and around UCLA, including a fallen tree on a
fraternity house resulting in dozens of displaced students.

The recent rainstorm, which began Thursday, is part of a
tropical storm system termed “Pineapple Express” by
meteorologists and has dropped rain on Los Angeles in buckets.

Downtown Los Angeles, which usually gets an average winter
rainfall of 15 inches, recorded 5.16 inches of rain since Friday,
including a record 2.58 inches on Sunday, according to the National
Weather Service.

Capt. Mike Ketaily at Fire Station 37 on Veteran Avenue said
firefighters have done 42 weather-related runs in the past day,
responding to calls for everything from car accidents to mudslides
to fallen trees and powerlines.

“It’s really, really busy,” he said.
“Everybody just needs to be careful and use caution when
they’re driving.”

On campus, a consistent problem is leaks in buildings, which
UCLA Facilities Management only learns about when it rains, said
Gail Cowling, executive officer of general services. Leaks have
popped up in a variety of campus buildings in the past week,
including Ackerman Union and Kerckhoff Hall.

“We’ll always have leaks on a campus this
big,” said Gail Cowling, executive officer of general
services. “We don’t have the problems we had 10 years
ago, that’s for sure.”

UCLA is in a much better position now than during previous rain
storms. When the last El Niño rainstorm event hit Southern
California in 1997, many of the minor structural damages from the
1994 Northridge earthquake had not still not been repaired, Cowling
said. The distribution of funds from the Federal Emergency
Management Association to fix the damages had been deferred,
delaying repairs.

The recent rainstorm has caused some damages of its own off
campus. Firefighters and police responded Sunday evening to a
fallen tree at 611 Gayley Ave., which left dozens of UCLA students
homeless.

A eucalyptus tree from fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon’s back
yard fell on the house around 6:30 p.m., said fraternity members
who were in the house at the time.

The tree crushed an outdoor patio, and interior damage could be
seen in the form of a crack on the ceiling of the third floor
bathroom. University police and the fire department said no
injuries were reported.

The fire department evacuated the house’s 41 residents
around 7:15 p.m. Fraternity members cannot reenter the building
until the damage has been assessed by the Los Angeles Housing
Department and officials can be sure the structure is safe, Ketaily
said.

Residents have been staying with friends, alumni and active
members living in apartments.

“There has been a tremendous outpouring of support from
alumni and active brothers living in apartments,” said David
Graham-Caso, president of Sigma Phi Epsilon. “It was very
good how quickly that support showed up.”

Cowling said the oversaturation of the ground has caused trees
to fall, including another eucalyptus tree near the UCLA School of
Law, prompting Facilities Management to trim some of the trees that
are in danger of falling.

While sizable puddles can be seen around campus, Stone Canyon
Creek, which runs behind the Corinne A. Seeds University Elementary
School, has not flooded, though it flooded during the heavy
rainfall of the last El Niño.

To deal with flooding around campus, leaves, dirt and other
debris are being cleared from storm drains with sewer jets and
rotor rooters.

The rain has also had varying effects on commuters. Ruby Adorno,
a fourth-year English student, noted that her commute takes an hour
longer.

“I cannot stand the rain,” Adorno said. “I
hate it.”

Vanpool drivers say the rain has not made much of a difference
in the commute. While there have been more accidents in the past
week ““ hundreds more than usual according to the California
Highway Patrol ““ the average commute has only been lengthened
by about 10 to 15 minutes thanks in part to carpool lanes, said
Martin Richardson, a senior administrative analyst for UCLA
Corporate Accounting who drives a rideshare van to Costa Mesa.

“(The carpool lane) helps a lot when we’re driving
home,” Richardson said.

After more heavy rains predicted for today, meteorologists
expect the weather to subside and predict clear skies by
Wednesday.

With reports from Bruin wire services.