Northwestern’s Evanston campus was shut down and parts of it were evacuated at about 11 a.m. Thursday after torrential downpours caused flooding and power outtages throughout the campus.

Several buildings, including the Sports Pavilion and Aquatics Center and the University Library, were damaged by flooding and sewage overruns, according to Al Cubbage, vice president for university relations. He said more than half of the buildings on campus took on water during the day.

“The damage was pretty extensive,” he said. “We got hit hard. … It was a humdinger.”

The university sent out e-mails, voice mails and put news of the campus shut down on its Web site to inform employees that they should leave, Cubbage said. He said the university had to evacuate some buildings where there was a lot of water build-up in the lobby, such as the library. Most of the campus was empty by noon, and no one was injured, he said.

Cubbage said NU did not yet know how expensive the damage would be, as members of the risk management office were still working with the university’s insurance company to assess the damage. He said there didn’t appear to be any structural damage to the buildings.

The damage to the pools at SPAC is a “key problem,” Cubbage said. The flooding contaminated an area where chlorine is stored, and several nearby fire departments sent their hazardous materials teams to clear the area, Cubbage said. The firemen cordoned off the SPAC parking lot and the aquatics center remains closed.

The rest of the campus was opened Friday after facilities management employees stayed through the campus shut down to begin cleaning up the buildings that flooded, Cubbage said. The crew has been working around the clock, and most of the campus is already operational, he said.