An Aug. 22 storm at ASU East caused an estimated $1 million in damage to Williams Gateway Airport and $15,000 in various roof and landscaping damages along Sossaman Road at the campus.
Airport officials reported wind speeds as high as 92 mph. Walter Fix, director of operations at the airport, said the winds were severe.
"The winds were so strong that they broke the tie-down chains and several eyelets that are fastened to aircraft," Fix said. He also said parts to one plane were blown nearly a half-mile away.
Terry Isaacson, ASU East director of administrative services who has been at East since it was an Air Force base, said the storm was one of the worst he'd seen.
Operations at the airport were shut down temporarily, but they resumed as soon as the airstrip and weather conditions improved; however, the Queen Creek area lost power for the weekend.
"The worst thing that happened was that it hit the campus two days before school started, when parents and students were coming to visit," Isaacson said.
The facilities maintenance crew worked all weekend repairing damages so East would be ready for the first day of classes on Aug. 25. Electricians had to shut off power and remove the three light poles along Williams Field Road that were flattened by the microburst.
Dozens of Palo Verde trees were either severely damaged or collapsed across the campus. The roof lining at the currently vacant Taylor Hall was strewn across the street, but several students at East said they did not notice any major damage when they came to campus.
Reach the reporter at erika.camardella@asu.edu.