The Los Angeles Loyolan, Volume 55, Issue 15 - February 13, 1978

MASSIVE LAKE in Sunken Gardens created by flash flood which swept across campus in wake of Friday’s storm. (Loyolan photo by Dennis J. Lau) los angeles loyolan VoL 55, No. 15 Loyola Marymount University February 13, 1978 Flash flooding inundates campus Robert's, Seaver basements flooded; fallen ^rees trigger blackout A violent storm that inundated an already rain-drenched LMU cam¬ pus Friday caused a flash flood, sending a torrent of water down Alumni Mall which flooded the basements of St. Robert’s and Seaver Halls, and created a sizable lake in the Sunken Gardens. The rain had barely stopped fall¬ ing before strong winds tore up numerous trees and littered the campus with branches and debris. Several large trees fell across power lines behind Pereira Hall, resulting in a four-hour blackout More photos of flooding and storm damage around LMU on Pages 12 and 13. which affected the entire Univer¬ sity. The storm, which caused flood- > ing, blackouts and heavy damage throughout most of Los Angeles, roared through the Westchester area several minutes after mid¬ night, bringing torrential rains, lightning and near-hurricane force winds. Flooding occurred in many loca¬ tions around the campus. Fast- moving water accumulated quickly and began cascading down Alumni Mall, reaching, a depth of more than two feet in some spots, according to an LMU Security officer. As the raging current reached Regents* Terrace, it then swept down the stairs and into the Sunken Gardens, where water accumulated waist-deep in some spots later Friday morning. Most areas of the St. Robert’s basement, including the Computer Center, Personnel Services and Campus Graphics, became flooded as water outside rose above the windows. Many rooms contained more than a foot of water. Computer technicians and custo¬ dians, fearing possible electrocu¬ tion, fled the building* Los Angeles City firemen and Physical Plant workers labored until dawn, pumping out flooded areas and beginning mop-up pro¬ cedures. Edward Spitz, director of the Computer Center, said a prelimi¬ nary dstimate of the damages there would run in excess of $5,000, mostly for carpeting and lost computer cards. The computers themselves, which are in a room that is elevated three feet above surrounding areas, were not dam¬ aged, Spitz said. Damages to other areas of the St. Robert’s basement would not be fully known until sometime this week, according to Bill Wilson, director of Physical Plant. Although some flooding occurred in the basement of Seaver Hall, it was apparently not as extensive as that in St. Robert’s. Water removal continued all day on Friday, as clean-up crews inspected most buildings on cam¬ pus. Pumps slowly drained the accumulation of water in the Sun¬ ken Gardens. Virtually the entire University was without electrical power from 8:19 am until 12:30 pm Friday. Many areas of the campus were also without telephone service. Morning classes were held at the discretion of professors, but with¬ out lights in buildings, many classes were cancelled. Many areas of the University closed and sent employees home by noon, and many fhore classes wdre then cancelled, even though power had been restored. Strong winds continued to buffet the area through the day, ; with many parts of the city without power until Saturday. Around Los Angeles, the storm left death and destruction in its wake. The Los Angeles Times reported at least ten deaths result¬ ing from the storm, as well as the evacuation of an estimated 700 persons from their homes. Flash floods, mudslides and howling wind combined to wreak damages to homes and businesses that will run into the millions. Many roads around the area were washed out. Locally; many sections of Lincoln Boulevard were covered by mud and water until midmorning Friday. The combination of, winds and rough seas forced the closure of both Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors. Dozens of boats were sunk or heavily damaged. Waves were reported smashing over the Marina Del Rey breakwater. Hidden Springs, a tiny resort hamlet in the Angeles National Forest, was reduced to rubble by a flash flood. Ten persons were still unaccounted for as of Sunday. In the Sunlaqd-Tujunga area, 100 homes were damaged by the squall. An estimated 30 corpses were unearthed when a hillside section of a cemetery was washed away, sending the bodies into streets and residential yards up Го threerquarters of a mile away. Closer to LMU, El Segundo police reported that a small tornado touched down along Main Street, doing considerable damage to busi¬ nesses. The aftermath. of the giant storm, however, was not without some humor. As arriving students gaped at the lake that had been created by the floodwaters in the Sunken Gardens, several tried sailing homemade crafts of various types, and at least one male student attempted to surf on the receding waters. The last time the Sunken Gar¬ dens were under water was in January, 1969, when the runoff from nine straight days of tain (then dubbed “Lake Ignatius’’) gradually filled the area up. Fri¬ day’s deluge took approximately 30 minutes to accomplish the same feat, according to witnesses. SCRAMBLING AGAINST THE TIDE, unidentified student races up Regents’ Terrace steps shortly after midnight Friday as torrential rains sent flash flood down Alumni Mall and Into the Sunken Gardens. (Loyolan photo by Nets Israelson) . Inside Cagers gain split. . . . Page 8 In a pair of exciting weekend games, Dave Benaderet’s Lions played class basketball against two of the WCAC’s best, upsetting Santa Clara, 65-64, and barely losing to defending champ USF, 82-80. Gross anatomy ............ Page 14 A visit to the UCLA anatomy lab not only opened Chuck Bostwick’s eyes, but also prompted him to investigate such timely subjects as body donation and grave-robbing in this fascinating feature. Marxist films . §f ............ Page 18 Two powerful new films, Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1900 and The Battle of Chile, both push potent Marxist political themes and are the subject of analysis in this week’s Entertainment section.