Freshman biology major Raven Davis, junior athletic training major Julian Maze
and senior computer science major Vantrayl Sanders hit the dab outside
the University Center  as they journey to play in the flooded tunnel.
Many students journeyed to the tunnel throughout the day as they ventured into
knee deep water.
The Lion's Roar / Megan Ferrando
 

Water rises feet above ground as severe weather rocks Louisiana.
Water rose highest on North Campus, flooding the University Center basketball court,
while most buildings remained dry indoors.
The Lion's Roar
 

Heavy rain this past Thursday caused flash flooding over the weekend in many parts of Louisiana, damaging nearly 5,000 homes. According to Tangipahoa Parish President Robby Miller, about 200 people in Hammond had to be rescued by boat early Friday morning. A curfew was put into place on Friday starting at 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. on Saturday in order for emergency responders to get the resources they needed to do their job overnight.   

The university shut down the campus Thursday through Friday in preparation for the storm and postponed most events scheduled for Saturday such as The Big Event and the Rotary 10-K Shamrock Run.

Almost all flooding on campus occurred near North Campus in the commuter parking lot, in the tunnel under the bridge and inside the University Center. 

“This seems to be related to city drainage issues in the area, with rainwater getting into the sewage system and causing it to back up into the University Center,” said Director of Public Relations for Southeastern Rene Abadie in a press release on Friday. “City Crews have been working to fix the drainage problem.” 

Most students who live in the apartments in the back of North Campus decided to go examine the flooding up close.

“I woke up this morning and I saw the pictures and I wanted to see if it was still that bad and it is still that bad,” said sophomore business administration major and member of Alpha Omicron Pi Anna Leader. “It kinda sucks for everyone whose house got flooded and that our basketball court got flooded. You can’t move your car, so you’re stranded.”

Students did not look at the water outside their apartments as an obstacle, but also saw it as an opportunity to have fun and enjoy some water sports. 

“It’s easy enough to just cross the street, but that’s no fun,” said sophomore history major Trey Capello. “They had some other people who were out here jumping into the water. We were just having fun skim boarding and whatnot.”

The flooding unfortunately got into the University Center and reached the area surrounding the basketball court doing damage to the hardwood. The water had to be pumped out over night on Saturday.

“The water, almost like a river, just poured into the arena onto the floor so the floor is ruined,” said Head basketball Coach Jay Ladner. “Anytime a basketball court gets that much sitting water it’s going to buckle that wood, so that’s going to be a problem for us. It will probably take awhile to order a new floor.”

The basketball team as well as the rest of the school will have to find another venue until the University Center can be repaired.

“We were going to have the Stepshow in the University Center yesterday (Mar. 10), but it was cancelled and then someone in the group that we are in sent us a picture of the court flooded,” said junior English major Eddie Cooper.

The campus opened back to its regular schedule on Monday as portions of the state remain under water. Southeastern Louisiana University continues to monitor the weather.

Visit the school website southeastern.edu for information on cancellations due to dangerous weather.