The bottom three floors of U. New Mexico’s Logan Hall are almost unrecognizable after the building flooded Aug. 8 due to a water valve believed to have been left open.

Jane Ellen Smith, chair of the psychology department that is housed in Logan Hall, said one of the water valves tends to get stuck open, letting out water. She said there was a foot of water on the third floor.

“Of course, then it started to leak through the ceilings into the lower levels,” she said. “In some places it was just a trickle, and in some it was like a water fall coming through the ceiling.”

All in all, three floors and 35 rooms on the west side of Logan Hall were affected by the flooding, forcing many professors’ offices to be relocated. However, Smith said classes will continue as scheduled and tests are being conducted.

“We are trying to put up lots of signs so that students trying to find faculty members will know where they have been relocated,” she said.

To make matters worse, teams working to fix the affected areas are dealing with asbestos hazards.

Joel Straquadine, the University’s safety officer for Safety and Risk Services, said UNM is monitoring the cleanup efforts to make sure workers don’t get sick. He said that his team has worked all week to remove the asbestos from the area, and that no other hazardous materials were found.

“Multiple rooms got wet, and we were called in to test for moisture content, as well as for hazardous materials,” he said.

As an added safety measure, plastic tarps are taped over doorways in the building, as large plastic air vacuums work steadily to pump hazardous air out. Signs and caution tape warn construction workers against entering the taped-off areas without proper protection and equipment.

One worker, who preferred to remain anonymous, explained that the sheet rock walls in the lower levels of Logan Hall are old and contain asbestos. If undisturbed, the worker said, the asbestos is not a problem, but now that it is wet it must be removed.

Despite the unexpected flooding, Smith said the staff and faculty are trying to be optimistic.

“Everyone is coping very well with this, and we are looking on the bright side,” she said. “Many of us will be getting new computers, furniture and rugs, so it’s not all bad.”