Durham art studio flooded after storms
DURHAM (WTVD) -- An art studio in Durham may have sustained some of the worst damage from Thursday night's storms.
Liberty Arts is no stranger to flooding, it moved to its current location in 2011 after the roof on their old building collapsed, taking part of the sprinkler system with it.
Four years later, history has almost repeated itself.
"The storm collapsed the roof, the roof in turn hit one of these large wooden beams, broke that, that hit a pipe that belongs to the sprinkler system," Liberty Arts Board President Jackie MacLeod said. "And on top of the 2 inches of rain we had last night, the sprinkler system just emptied itself."
Artists in the building on Franklin Street said many of them were alerted to the disaster when they woke up and saw an email from the building manager, causing them to rush over as quickly as they could.
"Within an hour everyone was here," MacLeod said. "In the meantime, we just picked everything up."
Right now, they don't know the extent of the damage, but they're hopeful they'll be able to salvage most of their tools and artwork.
Some items were moved outside in the sun to dry Friday after the studio had an estimated inch and a half of standing water inside at one point.
However, they don't believe it is as bad as what they faced in 2011 that forced them to move.
Studio artists are hoping the roof will be repaired soon, pending clearance from the fire marshal.
