A Wicomico single showed signs of flooding and had belongings scattered on the floor when resident Emily Wagner returned after Hurricane Sandy.

After the heavy rains and winds of Hurricane Sandy left several dorms soggy, Residential Facilities received many ceiling leakage reports in the dorms.

Though buildings on the campus had experienced some leaks prior to the storm last weekend, Residential Facilities Director Jon Dooley said weather conditions caused widespread leaks within the dorms. Along with the sagging and soaking of some ceiling tiles in Hagerstown Hall’s first-floor lounge, caused by water that leaked from a small roof area over the west side of the building, water leaks have also been reported in Wicomico, La Plata and Anne Arundel halls and Leonardtown Community, in addition to a few houses off the campus on Fraternity Row and the Graham Cracker.

“With the prolonged and extensive nature of the storm, it’s not surprising that many buildings experienced leakage,” Dooley said.

Residents also discovered water trickling into elevator shafts within Somerset, Cumberland and Centreville halls, causing maintenance to temporarily shut them down. Some buildings also experienced minor flooding because water flowed in underneath exterior doors.

“The leaks weren’t that big of a deal, though some parts of the ceiling tiles may have to be replaced,” said Centreville resident Demi Chang, a freshman journalism major. “I think these kinds of issues are inevitable.”

Chang’s hallway also saw minor leakage, she said.

“We have had leaks before from far less rain, but this was the most extensive amount of leakage reports we’ve received during one event,” Dooley said.

Emily Wagner, a junior biology major, avoided her Wicomico room during the worst of Sandy by staying at a friend’s house. However, when she returned to the campus Wednesday morning, she said her single looked “trashed.” Her bedside table was knocked over and possessions strewn across the floor. Her temporary air conditioning unit — provided by the university to accommodate Wagner’s heart condition — was removed from her window, and there was a rain bucket in her closet where her clothes were wet and muddy, she said.

“When I walked in, I had no idea what had happened,” Wagner said. “I hadn’t received any notifications from facilities, and so I was just really confused.”

After Wagner notified her resident director, a maintenance employee came by her room and explained there had been a leak in the ceiling of her closet and water had gotten in through the air conditioning unit, flooding her room.

“The maintenance staff was really nice and they have been really supportive in trying to help me clean up my dorm room,” Wagner said.

Residents made 12 calls from Wicomico to Residential Facilities reporting leakage, and the department discovered two leaks from each end of the building, according to Dooley.

The influx of reports to Residential Facilities during Hurricane Sandy prevented staff from alerting Wagner of the flooding issue within her room, as they were pressed to respond to a number of similar cases, according to Ryan Manning, resident director for Caroline, Carroll, Wicomico and Worcester halls.

“For the magnitude of reports that we were dealing with, we did everything that we could to deal with all issues that came to our attention,” Manning said. “Our facilities staff did an excellent job.”

If a student’s belongings are ruined or damaged, Resident Life encourages students to file a police report and then work with their family’s home insurance company, as most home insurance plans also cover dorms. Students may also file a claim with the university to receive compensation for their losses. Staff have responded to reports by using wet-dry vacuums to aid in cleaning up the water in the dorms, and contractors are inspecting windows and roofs of buildings to see where repairs are necessary.

“With each call, staff respond during and after the event to assist the students as best as we can,” Dooley said.