Students at one Florida International University dorm building remained without a home Monday due to damage caused by Hurricane Irma.
The building at FIU's Biscayne Bay Campus, a 2-year-old apartment-style dorm called Bayview, was soaked when Irma's whipping sideways rain forced its way past sealed windows and managed to make a mess.
Since the storm passed, work crews have been inside cleaning things up. They removed the baseboards and they're using their wetvacs and fans to try to prevent mold from growing.
But until their moisture meters tell them it's all dry, the university won't let students back into their rooms. That means 387 students were displaced on the first day back to class Monday.
The school says the building meets or exceeds all the current building codes, but its location right on the bay makes it extra vulnerable.
If students don't have friends or family to stay with, they can stay in the free shelter on campus. FIU is providing free meals and 24-hour police protection inside a ballroom-turned-shelter until the dorms are ready for re-occupation.
"I'm used to this, I'm from Haiti. Catastrophe, natural disasters, we have a lot of those in Haiti. I wasn't really prepared for that but I'm adaptable," FIU student Dieph Domingue said.
"We felt it was prudent on our part to ensure that the building was safe and that everything was to our satisfaction before students come back in," said FIU's Dr. Pablo Ortiz.
So when is it going to be safe? FIU hopes by the end of the week but officials from the university and the private company that runs the building can't say for sure.
