NORFOLK, Va. — You wouldn’t have known standing on Park Avenue in Norfolk Friday, but the Babbette Smith South residence hall on the campus of Norfolk State University was creating some headaches.
Headaches for the university, students who stay in the dorm, and their families after a water pipe burst causing some students to have to be evacuated.
“There were reports coming from the tenth floor that the tenth floor was flooded," NSU student Corey Staggers said.
Staggers stays in the building and was there when the pipe burst. He said he didn’t have time to grab much when he had to get out.
“The water was coming through the elevator," Staggers recalled. "They only allowed me to grab a charger and a blanket...We sat in the Robinson Technology Building for, maybe, about an hour and a half until they transported us to the hotels.”
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When News 3 interviewed him, he hadn’t been able to get into the building and check on the stuff in his dorm room.
“It’s just going to be very frustrating if I get up there and all my valuable belongings are messed up," said Staggers.
News 3 also spoke to some students and their family members who didn’t want to go on camera. They said they were a little frustrated by what they felt was a lack of information from the university.
In a statement Friday morning, the university said work was underway to get students back into the building.
Babbette Smith South Residence Hall had a water pipe burst overnight causing excess water damage throughout the building. Students were evacuated to the Robinson Technology Building and eventually relocated to local hotels between 4-6:30 a.m.
Currently, power has been shut off throughout the building and students are unable to enter at this time. University police, emergency services, and disaster restoration services are working to address the issues so that students may gain access to their rooms by Friday afternoon.
NSU staff is working to address students’ immediate needs and will continue to assist students over the next few days.
A university spokesperson said work will be done on the building over the summer and it will be ready for students when they return.
