Severe flooding has caused damage throughout Atlanta. Late Thursday afternoon, Fox Weather reported that the storm poured down 2 inches of water in a little over an hour, leaving the Clark Atlanta University (CAU) students scrambling to escape their dorms as they filled with water.
Viral social media videos taken by CAU students show the water flooding into the dorm buildings, which subsequently lost power. A video taken in a dorm hallway by student Ashley Clark revealed that the floor was covered in water, and one student even seemed to have her leg stuck in a door due to the water current.
A student’s leg appeared to be stuck in a door during flooding inside the Clark Atlanta University dorms earlier
“All students living in the residential areas affected by flooding are in the process of being relocated to new housing,” the university said https://t.co/0Yx9u9BOxS pic.twitter.com/BPLhJDHtc6
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 14, 2023
Thankfully, fellow dorm members were able to come together to free the student’s leg before the water rose any further. Reportedly, Clark told 11Alive, “I used a fire extinguisher to keep banging the door, and they pulled her out. It took a few minutes, but we did it by ourselves. Her leg was bleeding really bad, so we carried her up the stairs, and they took her to the hospital. Her mom said she got out of surgery a few hours ago and is in recovery. I’m going in the morning to see her myself, but all of our rooms are completely damaged.”
Update from the person who recorded this video: “I used a fire extinguisher to keep banging the door and they pulled her out. It took a few minutes but we did it by ourselves. Her leg was bleeding really bad so we carried her up the stairs and they took her to the hospital.
Her…
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 15, 2023
An 11Alive representative spoke to a CAU student who was studying in the library as the flash flooding occurred.
She told the outlet that when she left, there was water already rushing over her shoes.
“It was scary,” the student explained, “I looked out the window and seen the large flood, and more videos kept coming in of the cars floating.”
A CAU spokesperson assured the public that school officers and responders handled the situation according to protocols and as quickly as possible. The spokesperson said in a statement, “All students living in the residential areas affected by flooding are in the process of being relocated to new housing. We will continue to assess the impact of the severe inclement weather.”
The university has work crews trying to assess the situation and make repairs to return displaced students to their dorms.
The damage expanded past the dorms. The roads surrounding CAU are entirely covered in mud following the ceasing of the flooding, and cars were left moved after being swept up in the water.