Nearly half of the 64 Kappa Delta house residents cannot live in their sorority house for the rest of the semester, as the ceilings caved in when the house flooded after five days of heavy rain fell in Oxford last week.
Kappa Delta residents shared pictures of the damage to the house on social media. In the pictures, trash cans were scattered around the house to collect water leaking through the roof. There was also significant damage to the flooring. The wood floor was warped, and the ceilings in some rooms were also beginning to cave in.
In an email released to Kappa Delta members on Sunday, the housing corps president Margaret Anne Alias said the flooding was because of clogged drains on the building’s roof.
“Three of the drains on the roof were, unbeknownst to anyone, almost stopped up due to sand from the shingles,” Alias said.
As of now, the only residents who are affected are those living in the left side of the house, she said.
Junior biology major and Kappa Delta member Anna Holt Shaw said the sorority has offered displaced residents rooms in The Inn at Ole Miss, but this is only a temporary solution.
“Moving out was very stressful, considering I was not expecting to have to do so at all,” Holt said. “I was packing hectically, so nothing is in order, and it is hard to sort through all my things.”
Servpro, a company dealing with the water damage, will be testing the air quality in the Kappa Delta house in the coming days to determine whether it is safe for those on the right side of the house to remain living there.
“What is important for you to know is that there is no danger in staying in that portion of the house right now,” Alias said in her email to the chapter. “The question is whether the moisture level can be maintained at a safe level, and Servpro will determine this soon. If they determine that the rest of the girls should move out as well, we will offer the same assistance in finding alternate housing.”
Alias said the chapter is trying to deal with the situation as soon as possible.
“The fact this happened on a weekend has not helped the situation,” Alias said. “It did not hinder our ability to immediately address the problem and begin cleanup, but it has hindered our ability to quickly find alternate housing for these girls.”
A building restoration company started the clean-up process Saturday around 3 p.m., and the process will take around two weeks, Alias said.
