After nearly six inches of rain fell Tuesday night as the remnants of Hurricane Jeanne doused campus, the University began Wednesday to clean up.
Unsuspecting students found themselves drenched in a matter of seconds as heavy rain fell at sporadic intervals.
"I came out of lecture at 2:30 p.m when it just started . . . In the minute [I walked] from Frist to [my dorm], my clothes were soaked completely through," Brian Muegge '05 said.
Even the best-prepared students could not avoid the standing water and runoff on campus.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported a 30-year historical average of 3.32 inches of September rainfall for the Trenton area. On Tuesday alone, 5.74 inches of rain fell.
No storm-related injuries were reported at the University, though there was some noticeable damage to the campus. Two trees fell — one along Washington Rd. at about 11 p.m. Tuesday, and another along University Pl. near Lockhart Hall early on Wednesday, said Manager of Grounds Jim Consolloy. The affected roads were cleared by Wednesday morning.
In addition, a street lamp near the Butler apartments snapped but nobody was hurt, said Public Safety Lt. Duncan Harrison.
Consolloy said flooding also occurred at other campus locations, including the open excavation sites near Mathey and Whitman colleges. There were additional reports of flooding in the basements of some faculty housing due to clogged gutters.
None of the damage this year has been exceptional, Consolloy added.
"We've concentrated heavily on problem areas over the last couple years, and it's now starting to pay off when we get these two to four inch rain storms," he said.
The University began to clean and repair the campus at 6 a.m. Wednesday. Cleanup efforts included sweeping away fallen leaves and branches and "making sure that all of our inlets and storm detention basins are clear for the next storm," Consolloy said.
Despite the damage to campus the heavy rainfall benefited the area, the grounds manager said.
"It took a lot of the cicada damage out of the trees. A lot of the brown tips that were barely hanging on came down," Consolloy said. "And no one's going to be complaining about the dust now, at least for a few days."
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