Water turned school's hallways into creeks

Rainwater that forced Seattle's Nathan Hale High School to close for a full week flowed in through the doors and down the hallways, rising to a depth of a couple of inches, officials said.

Students were in third period Monday morning when flooding in 28 classrooms forced the school to close. Water was seeping into the walls of first-floor classrooms, said Seattle Public Schools maintenance manager Mark Pflueger. The water entered the school through the doorways, running off the cement courtyard and asphalt paving in front of the school.

Maintenance crews began replacing the walls and discovered asbestos around pipes that needed to be removed. That "tedious process" slowed repair efforts, said district facilities director Fred Stephens.

The 40-year-old North Seattle high school has never flooded before, Stephens said. Crews will work day and night through the weekend to finish the work by Monday, when students are scheduled to return.

The school's gym was not affected by flooding, so Friday and Saturday night basketball games will still take place, but ACT testing Saturday has been moved to nearby Summit K-12.

It's not clear how many days students will have to make up, or when. That must be negotiated with the teachers union, school officials said.