Los Angeles Flood Hits University | Water Main Break Next to UCLA Prompts Flooding | VIDEO An approximately 93-year-old water main broke in Westwood Tuesday, sending water flooding into streets and onto the UCLA campus, stranding people and vehicles and prompting the closure of Sunset Boulevard on Tuesday. UCLA Flooding VIDEO Water Main Break Next to UCLA Prompts Flooding UCLA Flooding VIDEO Water Main Break Next to UCLA Prompts Flooding UCLA Flooding VIDEO Water Main Break Next to UCLA Prompts Flooding UCLA Flooding VIDEO Water Main Break Next to UCLA Prompts UCLA Prompts Flooding UCLA Flooding VIDEO Water Main Break Next to UCLA Prompts Flooding UCLA Flooding VIDEO Water Main Break Next to UCLA Prompts Flooding UCLA Break Next to UCLA Prompts Flooding UCLA Flooding VIDEO Water Main Break Next to UCLA Prompts Flooding UCLA Flooding VIDEO Water Main Break Next to UCLA Prompts The Los Angeles Fire Department, which was called to the incident shortly before 3:30 p.m., finding a towering geyser of water rising from Sunset Boulevard. Three people were rescued from parking structures, the department’s Brian Humphrey told KTLA. Parking structures 4 and 7 were closed and people should not try to retrieve their cars, UCLA announced. Water was seen inside multiple buildings on the campus, and photos posted on Twitter showed several inches of water on the basketball court at Pauley Pavilion. A geyser of water was shooting several dozen feet into the air from a hole in a roadway near the Spieker Aquatic Center, video from Sky5 showed. A main had broken in the center of Sunset Boulevard, LAFD Capt. Jaime Moore said. “It’s like I’m at Niagara Falls on Sunset,” said one area resident who spoke to KTLA. The address given for the flooding was 10630 W. Sunset Blvd., next to the UCLA campus (map). Water was flowing over much of the campus, aerial video showed. Busy Sunset Boulevard was shut down from Hilgard to Veteran avenues, and the roadway was likely to remain closed for a while during dewatering, water main and road surface repairs, officials said. Utility crews were shutting down multiple valves to avoid rupturing lines, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power stated on Twitter about 5:10 p.m. It would take some time to stop the flow, the DWP said. The 30-inch pipeline handles 75,000 gallons per minute, DWP said. “I’ve never seen a water main break this large,” Moore said. “I’ve never seen one with this much water, this much pressure and that much damage to a major street like this.” While authorities were urging people to avoid the area and stay out of the water, the Fire Department was responding with four swift-water boats that could be deployed. Students were walking through the waters, despite warnings that it should be avoided. (Credit: Vu Pham) Students were walking through the waters, despite warnings that it should be avoided. (Credit: Vu Pham) “We’re treating this the same as we would a flash flood,” Moore said from the scene. “Everybody is safe as long as they stay away from this water.” Sunset Boulevard was closed from Marymount Place to Westwood Plaza, according to LAFD. On Twitter, DWP said the broken pipe was 30 inches in diameter. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti tweetd that had been installed in 1921, correcting an earlier tweet that the pipe was from 1912. Moore urged people to stay away from the water because of slippery conditions, fast-running water, and debris. Nonetheless, aerial video showed dozens of people walking through giant brown pools of water across the campus. People could be seen wading through water from a massive main break on the UCLA campus July 29, 2014. (Credit: KTLA) People could be seen wading through water from a massive main break on the UCLA campus July 29, 2014. (Credit: KTLA) “People are standing in the water almost out of a sense of amusement,” Humphrey told KTLA. “It doesn’t take much more than an ankle depth of water to sweep somebody into harm’s way, so we’re hoping to get UCLA campus officials to move people here away … from this very dramatic cascade of water.” Water was seen inside the J.D. Morgan Center, which houses athletic staff and administration offices, the George Kneller Academic Center, UCLA’s Athletic Hall of Fame, and the John Wooden Center, according to the university. Traffic was jammed in the area, the Los Angeles Police Department stated in an advisory. The flooding came amid statewide calls to conserve water during a historic and extreme drought. Ucla Water Pipe Broken, Ucla Broken Water Pipe, Ucla Pipe Expliosion, Ucla Flooded, Ucla, Ucla Flood, Ucla Water Pipe, Ap, College News....

• published: 30 Jul 2014
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