Hurricane Damage Set At Minimum of $75,000

As workers continue to repair damage throughout the campus in the aftermath of Hurricane Gloria, Harvard officials have estimated the overall cost of the storm to be between $75,000 and $90,000.

The estimate includes the cost of equipment, supplies, and the services of Harvard and contracted personnel used in campus repairs, as well as over $20,000 in preparations for the storm. Campus officials, who expected that preparation costs would exceed $50,000, will receive a more thorough account of expenditures from the Facilities Maintenance Office on October 9.

Forty workers have spent the past four days fixing broken windows, clearing the Yard of tree branches, and making minor roof repairs. Facilities Maintenance Manager Lawrence R. Kilduff said yesterday that all work will be completed by the end of this week.

The most serious damage was incurred at Mather House, where ventilation covers were blown off the roof; at William James Hall, where several windows were smashed; and at Gibb Lab, where a falling tree broke through three second-story windows.

But officials said the overall effect of Gloria was minimal compared to what they anticipated. "We expected ten times the amount of damage we had," Kilduff said.

While the storm initially cut off electrical power in the Botanical Gardens, service throughout Cambridge has been restored, said Cambridge Electrical Co. Supervisor Robert Caron. With disorder prevailing throughout much of Massachusetts, Caron said he considered the Harvard area relatively fortunate. In addition, telephone communication at Harvard was undisturbed.