Flood closes Central City Library

A burst pipe in the plant room forced the closure of Central City Library in Lorne Street on Thursday, 24 January.

The flood began about 9am as the first customers entered the library. Most of the water came down an internal service stairwell from the roof and there was no damage to books or other items in the library. The building was closed because of the effect of the water on electrical systems.

Group manager Allison Dobbie praised fast work by staff that helped minimise damage. They made innovative use of wastebaskets, book bins and other containers to collect water and moved objects out of the flood path to stop the flow from spreading.

The library reopened at 9am on Friday morning as usual.

Service to the community libraries was unaffected.