Model schools flooded by rain
Early notice allows cleanup and repairs to begin quickly.
It was indeed a dark and stormy night for Aimee Hays, principal of Model Elementary School. She had a disturbing call Thursday evening shortly after the rain poured down in Rome.
“Heavy rains caused water to back up into our building and the Model High School auditorium. I was called at 5:40 by a staff member who was there. I immediately went and found 14 rooms under 2-plus inches of water,” Hays stated in an email to the Rome NewsTribune on Friday.
She said a number of people came together — area custodians, teachers, administration, Floyd County Schools Superintendant John Jackson, spouses and more — to push the water out of the building.
The local Servicemaster damage specialists were called in early Friday to thoroughly clean and dry out the buildings and furnishings.
“We will have rugs professionally cleaned, rooms are drying, shelves have to be replaced ... one computer and printer were wet from the flood,” reported Hays. “We have much more work, as the school was almost ready to open from great summer cleaning.”
Jackson explained the cause of the flooding in the schools to Hays as a clogged drain: “An inner courtyard drain became clogged with debris: gravel, pinestraw, dirt, etc.” The rising water from the heavy rain had nowhere to go except under hallway doors and through the walls of adjacent classrooms by way of air conditioning units.
In the same email, Scott Savage commented on the Model High auditorium flooding:
“We had some minor flooding in the auditorium, but Servicemaster got the water cleaned up (Thursday) night and had fans drying everything out. It shouldn’t be much of a problem. We had some lighting knocked out by the storm, but maintenance was working on getting that restored today.”
Hayes said on Friday they found some floor tiles would need to be replaced in one of the rooms, and some shelving and cabinets. But, she noted, “Everyone that came out last night were game changers. Had we not been aware of the water after hours last night, the situation would look much different. It was all smiles as everyone worked together.”