Internet and phone networks are down in the Shepherd Union Building after a pipe in the Fireplace Lounge ceiling burst and flooded the area.

The pipe broke at approximately 1:35 p.m., flooding the bookstore and Fireplace Lounge. THe emergency alarm sounded, and students in the surrounding areas were evacuated.

Although students are now allowed back into the building, the WiFi is currently still down.

Due to the downed networks, the union building’s near-full testing center had to be cleared out, and students were urged to finish their tests in another testing center on campus.

According to Tracey Smith, testing department coordinator for the Student Services Building, tests paused at 1:40 p.m.

“They can finish them at another center,” Smith said. Although he hadn’t heard a definite date for when the networks will be back up, he confirmed, “It won’t be today.”

Wendy, a math teaching student who preferred to withhold her last name, said she was at the scene right when the pipe burst.

“I thought, first of all, it should not be raining inside, but I did not know who to talk to,” she said, and explained that after she found someone at the information desk to address the dripping water, they both went back to the Fireplace Lounge and the water problem had gotten worse. “. . . And then it was pouring — a lot.”

Campus police as well as Facilities Management were called to the scene, but couldn’t be reached for comment. The Signpost will continue to update the story as more information is gathered.