Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include comment from DePaul’s Division of Student Affairs. 

Several residents of Ozanam Hall were rushed out of their dorms around 6 p.m. Tuesday evening and relocated to alternate housing due to a flood. A pipe burst in Lorenzo Abbate’s bathroom on the fifth floor, causing all the dorm rooms on the levels below it to face water damage as well.

The damage was the worst on the fifth and second floors, with the water leaking into the hall on the fifth floor. The walls on the second floor cracked due to water damage. 

“I was able to minimize waterflow into my dorm utilizing towels,” Abbate said. “My suitemate had it a lot worse; the water leaked badly into his side and it seeped through about half of his room and even into the hallway.”

When being rehoused, the students did not find out where they would be placed until around 10:30 p.m., with some students sent to the Sanctuary Townhomes and others sent to Seton Hall. Despite the third floor incurring the least amount of damage, Ryan Contardi and his roommate were offered housing in the Sanctuary Townhomes. 

“I got really excited when they said we would move to a townhome, which is great because I’m considering living there next year anyway so I can look at it now,” Contardi said. 

Kiera Moore’s dorm on the second floor took on some of the most severe damage. She was placed in Seton Hall. 

“I was disappointed that our floor was the second worst and we ended up getting last pick for the new housing,” Moore said. “There were some students that got sent to really nice townhomes but we were sent to a dorm with communal bathrooms when we paid for suite housing.”

According to Moore, DePaul Housing responded “in a very harsh way” by rushing the students and not providing details for housing until three hours after the flooding had taken place, causing the students to be evacuated from their rooms and wait until they had a new place to go. 

Carissa Janey, who also lives on the second floor, said the stress of midterms and the crowding of people in their room made the situation feel much worse. Janey was also stressed from the timing of the situation, since they were informed about their displacement last and had the least amount of time to pack up to leave. 

“My RA, Ana, and the RA on duty were really kind and made sure we were okay. However, most of the other DePaul staff lacked empathy in such a stressful environment,” Janey said. “We waited over an hour just to get our assignment, and the woman in charge was yelling at us, even though the situation was completely out of our control. I understand they were overwhelmed, but the process felt unorganized and chaotic.” 

DePaul stated that the students would be displaced for up to a week, but an email was sent to some students on Thursday saying that they could come back, including students from the second and third floors. 

The email was sent out at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, and said that the students were no longer to remain in the temporary relocation and that DePaul was pleased to welcome them back. 

At the time of the flooding, Janey and Moore’s wall “absorbed so much water that it became soft to the touch and slightly deformed,” and they were told not to touch it at all. 

Upon returning, Moore found the wall still appeared warped. Janey sent photos her roommate took of the damages still remaining in their room to DePaul Housing and received a response from Quana Atkins, the resident director of Seton Hall.

“Our Facilities Operations team has determined that the space is suitable for your return,” Atkins said. “A work order will be placed for our Facilities Operations team to address the crack in the wall that you shared as well as additional carpet cleaning. These concerns can be addressed with you living in the space.”

Janey has not been able to go back to her dorm, and will not move back for the upcoming weekend as she plans to go home to Minnesota. Janey has not been given a clear response on what to do with her items in the temporary housing since she cannot return in time to move back in and return her key.

“DePaul Housing has not been very helpful during this process and I’m worried that my current stuff in the emergency housing is going to get removed or I won’t be able to get back to it when I return,” Janey said.

Patricia Nicandro, the Marketing and Communications Manager for the Division of Student Affairs, said the Facility Operations team responded instantly to remove the water. All students were able to return to their rooms by 3 p.m. Friday, with only select students having to have three days of displacement. 

“This was an unfortunate incident, but it appears to have been caused by an accident and not by a facilities failure. As such, Housing & Residence Life is not planning any specific changes to facilities at this time. Staff is reviewing incident response procedures for any future incidents,” Nicandro said.

According to Nicandro, the Housing and the Facility Operations team worked with each other to ensure the safety of the spaces before students returned by making sure all affected areas were dry and all necessary repairs were made with baseboard replacements and re-gluing. 

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