A flood of 30,000 to 40,000 gallons of water closed down the Math building yesterday after a pipe in an underground tunnel burst early in the morning.

A fitting on an underground water pipeline in a northeast tunnel broke, flooding the basement of the Central Heating and Refrigerating Plant before making its way next door to the Math building, said Albert Tarcola, director of Facilities Management.

He said the estimated damage to the Math building was "a couple hundred thousand dollars."

The broken pipe could have flooded the McKale Center and Graham-Greenlee Residence Hall if facilities management had not turned off the water valve, he said.

Workers from facilities management discovered the flooding about 3:15 a.m., when it caused a power failure at the Central Heating and Refrigeration Plant, Tarcola said.

Power was also lost in buildings along the southeastern block of the university in the area, including McKale Center. Electricity was restored early yesterday morning to all but the Math building, where flooding damaged the electrical system, he said.

"All the electrical equipment was electrified when the water hit," Tarcola said. "It basically fried the motors."

The fire alarms there will not be working again until replacement parts arrive from Pittsburgh. The air conditioner motors will take up to 48 hours to fix and the elevator will be out of operation for a week, Tarcola said.

Graduate classes of four to five students will be allowed in the building but larger classes will be rescheduled. Two disabled students who will not be able to use the elevator will have classes rescheduled on the first floor, Tarcola said.