A water main burst with a massive torrent of water close to UCLA's campus, and the campus is rapidly flooding, including all the major athletic venues.

Pauley Pavilion was *just* renovated, and now it looks like this:

Pauley Pavilion was renovated a couple years ago. Look at it right now. Court likely ruined. pic.twitter.com/mJuEUzDLXY — Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) July 30, 2014

Here's another photo -- up-close -- of Pauley Pavilion floor. Can't imagine it could be salvaged. pic.twitter.com/v6UhVTJUeF — Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) July 30, 2014

Cost of the renovations to Pauley Pavilion two years ago: $136 million. Wonder how much it's going to cost to repair this. — Jeff Eisenberg (@JeffEisenberg) July 30, 2014

It's not just Pauley. Here's Drake Stadium:

1.

2.

Drake Stadium on the campus of UCLA almost totally submerged as a result of a water coming from Sunset Blvd. pic.twitter.com/3Ux9hk5s1V — Ryan Menezes (@ryanvmenezes) July 30, 2014

And other athletic buildings are filling up as well:

Trying to save the locker room from this flooding...#UCLA pic.twitter.com/nfJHYyAx2G — Alexandria Pham (@miss_alexpham) July 29, 2014

Flooding outside the UCLA equipment room #UCLA pic.twitter.com/qH3J4zoDsp — Alexandria Pham (@miss_alexpham) July 29, 201

The stairs in front of Pauley turning into a giant waterfall is particularly jarring. Stairs everywhere are now cascading:

John Wooden might need a snorkel before this is over:

Wooden statue outside of Pauley........ Water inside is 2-3 feet deep, possibly higher.... Oh my goodness. pic.twitter.com/qeBe74KpQg — Bruin Country™ (@UCLA_Nation) July 30, 2014

He doesn't care, though:

John Wooden's statue, in the midst of the flooding. pic.twitter.com/xNI6bYfiuk — Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) July 30, 2014

More images show the water rising around the rest of the campus as people try to evacuate:

Video: "The whole UCLA campus is flooded. We're trapped! Parking lots and all" http://t.co/290VRfLCb7 pic.twitter.com/h4IPZCFern — Jon Passantino (@passantino) July 29, 2014

Of course, UCLA folks are taking this in stride. They're either totally unfazed...

...or actively surfing on the new body of water:

The situation already has people-- "Louis Slungpue!"-- pranking newscasters (keep watching until 1:25ish):

Also check out the guys surfing down the stair waterfall!

The water main will be shut off gradually, as a sudden shut-off could cause other pipes to burst. So yeah, the flooding could proceed for a while. In the meantime, holy cow, that's huge:

Huge water main break near the UCLA campus in Los Angeles triggers a flash flood. Photo via KABC-TV. Item: WE-014TU pic.twitter.com/DoKnkGHQyB — CNN Newsource (@CNNNewsource) July 30, 2014

The distance the water traveled is pretty incredible. The water main break was up on Sunset Blvd. and it has flowed all the way down to Pauley Pavilion, which is hundreds of yards south. That means it made it down the major street, across the intramural fields (which are nearly 200 yards long) and then finally to the arena, flooding everything in its path.





Southern California is in the midst of a huge drought, so this is a major problem on several counts. Check back for updates.