Patio roof at UM dorm complex partially collapses from heavy rains. No injuries: UM
A heavy rainfall caused a roof over an outdoor patio at a University of Miami freshman dormitory complex to partially collapse Sunday evening, university officials said Monday.
No one was injured, UM said.
“At approximately 6 p.m. on Sunday, during heavy rainfall and storms that moved through our area, a portion of the outdoor patio area roof of Mahoney-Pearson Residential College was damaged and collapsed,” UM said in an email to the Herald.
The complex, which is on Stanford Drive near the Lowe Art Museum at the Coral Gables campus, was not damaged, UM said. The two dorms that make up Mahoney-Pearson were built in the late 1950s and early 1960s and each house about 700 students, according to UM.
“This is the time of the year when you have those cold fronts that don’t make it as cold in temperature, but they bring warm moisture from the Caribbean and Atlantic that makes it here,” Anthony Reynes, a National Weather Service meteorologist in the Miami office said Monday. “That can create the conditions for continuous showers and thunderstorms. That’s what happened yesterday.”
On Sunday, the Miami area, including Coral Gables, recorded 2 to 3 inches of rain throughout the day, the National Weather Service’s Miami office said. By contrast, Homestead recorded about one-tenth of an inch of rain.
The portion of the roof that collapsed has been secured and cleared. Structural engineers evaluated the scene to ensure the safety and stability of the patio area and nearby structures, the UM spokesperson said.
Students told the Herald on Monday they heard the noise from the collapse and saw all the debris, which had been cleaned up by Monday.
“Yes, it was loud,’’ said a UM student who was in her dorm Sunday evening.
Miami Herald Staff Writer Howard Cohen contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 31, 2025 at 3:38 PM.
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