Classes and after-school activities at West Somerville Neighborhood School were canceled Tuesday after heavy rain and storms sent water pouring into the building overnight Sunday, leaving several classrooms with varying degrees of damage. City crews and remediation teams spent Monday cleaning, drying and assessing the affected spaces as school officials worked to determine what went wrong and how quickly students could return.
School officials said the water damage was significant enough to force the full-day closure, according to Boston 25 News. While several classrooms sustained varying degrees of water damage, other parts of the building were not impacted, officials said. The outlet reports that school officials and a city contractor were investigating the cause of the leak, and that the contractor had been performing roof repairs this fall.
Officials believe the leak may be related to a malfunctioning roof drain, though the station notes that explanation remains under investigation rather than confirmed. City crews and water-damage remediation teams worked through Monday to clean, assess and dry the affected areas and prepare them for repairs, per the same account.
Emergency Plans Kick In As City Coordinates Response
Somerville Public Schools' continuity of operations plan was activated, and the city stood up an emergency operations center to coordinate the cleanup and communication effort, the report states. School officials said every effort was being made to reopen the building as quickly as possible, with classes expected to resume Wednesday.
Officials also said they regretted the disruption to students and families, acknowledging the challenges an unexpected closure can create for households scrambling to adjust. Somerville Public Schools is encouraging families to watch for updates as cleanup and repair work continues, the station's report notes.
A Soggy Weekend Across Massachusetts
The storm that swamped the Somerville school was part of a broader soaking across Massachusetts. Some communities recorded more than 2 inches of rain in less than 24 hours over Oct. 11 and into Oct. 12, according to MassLive. Shrewsbury logged the highest total in that stretch, at 2.87 inches as of 8:50 a.m. Monday, per the same report.
The West Somerville Neighborhood School sits at 177 Powder House Boulevard in Ward 7, according to the City of Somerville. This remains a developing story, and more information may become available as cleanup continues.
