Hi all, It has been a rather interesting day at the university today to say the least! It started out cloudy this morning. Then it started to sprinkle a bit. Soon it was raining. Before long the thunder started roaring and we were in for a heavy and steady down poor. Next the roof started leaking in the university piano shop. I began moving things around a bit and putting containers in places to catch the water, (the biggest leak was right over my desk). The maintenance people were notified. Next I get a phone call from the assistant dean. It seems that the water is rising around the music building fast and is entering and filling up the choral rehearsal room. This room has a sunken floor and is set lower than ground level. I arrive and sure enough water is pouring in through the back doors, (which leads to steps up to ground level). Well we have two pianos in this room. One is a Kawai KG-2 about twenty years old. The water is past the wheels and rising fast. There is also a harpsichord. The other piano is brand new 7' Yamaha. So new that it is in fact still in the shipping crate!! It is a dealer loaner piano. At this point the water is past the 2x4s on the bottom and is just approaching the point where the piano would be sitting in the crate. A mad rush now begins to gather people to help move the pianos to higher ground. The floor is arranged in long steps so that chairs can be placed on each step for rehearsals. The plan is to move the pianos up a couple steps. Fifteen minutes later ten or so volunteers are rounded up and the piano is moved, (about a full foot above the current water level). The old grand is brought all the way up to the top level and the harpsichord is saved. The rain continues and rises around the building. Soon it is entering the main building and begins running into the black box theater. The dance studio's brand new hardwood floors are now underwater. Outside a river rushes by and the commons slowly become a lake as the last bit of high ground disappears. Now the water is pouring into the choral room through the front entrance. It is over four feet high outside the back doors and the center post begins to give was as the force of the water pushes in. By this time the rain begins tapering off but the water continues to rise. It becomes clear that the piano in the crate will need to be moved again. More volunteers arrive and we move the piano up two more steps. Meanwhile a crew outside stacks sandbags. Finally the water level outside begins to drop, (although it is still filling the choral room). It looks as though the situation will be under control. Then utility folks show up and order the building evacuated because they must shut down the power. At the time that I left it looked as if things would be okay although three more inches of rain are expected tonight. The building is a mess and mud is everywhere. Perhaps the piano crate could be made into an ark? Rob Goodale, RPT University of Nevada, Las Vegas P.S. To top it off I also lost my glasses outside in the water trying to leap over a stream to get to my car!!
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