Knee-Jerk, a flooded UPSLIS Computer Laboratory

I've been talking about emotional knee-jerk reactions the whole day yesterday (June 11) with different people. How was I to know that the day would end with a communal collegiate knee-jerk. 

It was a harrowing day org-wise for me. But class-wise I took my time. You know me, I don't jump in head first on the very first day. It was all introductions, the way I've always started semesters. I ended both of my classes early, the rains were coming and I wanted to beat the downpour. Yet somehow, somewhy, time and circumstances dragged on and I was still in the UP SLIS (School of Library and Infromation Studies) at 4:30pm. Then the rains poured.

I decided to let the rains pass since I knew I'd end up being stuck in Quezon Ave. on my way home. Then it started.

You know that feeling you get when impending doom is coming. It was just like that, only in slow motion that played itself out in fast forward in a matter of minutes.


Center of the hallway, the rains really battered hard. I bumped into Michael, the janitor, who was just doing his usual thing. Then, one after another, people started calling out to him. First it was Ate Cora, the SLIS library ceiling was leaking. Michael attended to that. I heard the faucet-strong leak of the SLIS female CR roof. Nothing out of the ordinary when it rains. Michael was through, SLIS Lib remedied. Didn't really get to know what he did to solve it since Ma'am Tin came along, SLIS faculty room ceiling was leaking, Ma'am Vyva's table was getting drenched. Michael sauntered off to attend to that. The sinking feeling of doom I said a while ago? This was when it hit.



I inched my way into the SLIS Computer Laboratory, dropped my backpack onto the table and looked around. Nothing  much happening, really. Some drips and drops, nothing monumental to write home about. Then the rain got stronger. The drips and drops were more pronounced. There was one weak faucet-like leak near the 3-PC cluster on the far side of SLIS Computer Lab Rm 1. Then there was a mini-waterfall near the 3-PC cluster and aircon breaker on the far side of SLIS Computer Lab Rm 2. Think of it as getting a pitcher of water and slowly pouring it against a wall, that's how it looked like. It hadn't made it near the aircon breaker at this point.


Jeez, it was getting stronger. All I could do at this time was pull the 2 long PC tables of those 3-PC from the far wall and move them toward the center of the rooms. This was the time I think I saw Kat pass by the lab twice. Then Michael came in and saw me. Then all hell slowly broke loose.


Water.. water... and not a drop to drink... We started to see slow trickles of water slowly making their way down to the switches in the front enclosure of Rm 1. The weak faucet leak at the far side of SLIS Computer Lab Rm 1 was now about as strong as a water delivery hose. We moved the monoblock chairs out of the way. It was getting bad. Michael ran for a large pail.


In the meantime I improvised by getting the small blue wastebasket to catch the water. I knew that would only be good for about a few seconds before it fills up. I checked the breaker, expecting the worst. The pitcher of water and slowly pouring it against a wall? It was now a water delivery hose too, pouring against the wall... AND THE AIRCON BREAKER...


Michael came in with the larger pail for the Rm 1 leak, it was of little use. In about 2 seconds it was full... Then the water broke through the roof.
 

A lot of the other blog posts as well as online and offline comments mention a state of disbelief or "tulala" at one point or another during this whole incident. Mine came at that time. So helpless. Force Majeur. At the mercy of nature. And, like what Charm said, it takes a while to realize that there was a flood starting on the third floor.


The flow from water delivery hoses I see is about 2 to 3 inches in diameter. When the water broke through the roof, the flow was about 8 to 12 inches in diameter. Michael was faster than me. Before I could shout "Breaker!", he had already thought of it and was 15 ft ahead of me and out the door. Years ago, it was Mang Fred who I usually saw running to the breaker to turn it off, today Mang Fred was out, probably stranded carrying all the paperwork that would finally make it on top of our desks. The main electrical switch for the SLIS wing is in that small glass an wooden divider enclosed room behind the original Oblation. I was a couple of steps behind Michael and he just tore open the metal door of the electrical box and flipped the switch to turn off the power. We could here the collective "AYYY!"s of the SLIS peeps as the lights went out (and wifi signal levels going kaput and pages being accessed going blank). The SLIS went dark.

We rushed back to the Computer Lab. People were starting to gather to see what the fuss was all about. Michael and I were already drenched, and we were already kicking around water. I didn't see how deep water was on the floor, maybe it didn't reach an inch. The porous wooden floor probably gobbled it up fast. The waterfall that was about 8 to 12 inches in diameter lasted probably for only a minute. But by this time all the leaks were making the far side of the SLIS Computer Lab like a dirty shower.

Everything was a blur from this point on. Crash course in disaster management. All I could remember were Dan, Darrel, Eli and all the others relocating the monitors and desktops ("Tangal!"-"Buhat!", like a well-oiled machine), Arthur helping cover the switches (yes, they're switches, not servers) with plastic, Geexie and Kat with candles, and Grace taking pics (Ang tindi, lumulubog na Computer Lab e may nakapag-kuha pa ng pics para sa blog. O_o;; Request, can you give digital copies to Ate Shelly? I think they'll show it to Chancellor Cao when he visits).


Michael handed me a flashlight, I just placed it under my collar on my shoulder miner-type. Forgot that I did that, only remembered when I saw Charm's pics (grabbed the one above from her). I remember someone saying "Ingat... Ingat sa AVR at UPS! Baka may kuryente pa rin yan!" This while 3 people already had AVRs and UPS's tucked under their arms. Some looked at him (Arthur? Dan?) as if to say "Gee, thanks for telling us right about now when we're already holding them... O_o;;" Another thing I overheard was "Teka, teka! Basa na yan! Baka nakasaksak pa! Tapik-tapikin nyo muna para ma-check nyo kung may kuryente pang dumadaloy! Pag na-shock ka wag mong hawakan." O_o;; Which is something I really wouldn't recommend on a normal day...
 
When all was said and done, everyone had to go home. The SLIS had to close down for the day, no night classes. It was too dangerous electrical-wise.

Things haunted me through the night. Wet gorilla couldn't sleep.


The next day (June 11) proved me wrong and that my worries were unfounded. Power was back up before lunch. Dr. Roel Ocampo of the Computer Center had paid us a visit. There's still some water between the switches, maybe even inside. Those have to be dried up. Things would be back to normal as soon as we get things dry before powering up. Sir Roel assured me that it happens, even in newly-built buildings, that hurts even more because you don't expect it to happen.


Ate Josie, Michael and Mang Fred went up to the roof to see what caused all this. As it turned out there was a plastic cup noodle bowl firmly stuck in the downspout nearest the lab. And leaves from the nearby tree had covered it all up. Water, which seeks lower levels, had nowhere to go. So it found its way down to the little once-in-a-lifetime, 207th wonder of the modern world waterfall that is the SLIS Computer Laboratory. They cleaned it all up and things are flowing smoothly now.


All in all I was just thankful. Thankful that things all turned out okay and nothing too bad happened... Thankful for the people...

But my knee hurts from all the jerking.

And I still hate Wein...