Dorm Row plunges into darkness following manhole explosion

No injuries reported; students rescued from elevators

By Alex Tang May. 7, 2024

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At approximately 1 a.m. May 6, a manhole explosion near W85 (Westgate Apartments) and Tang Hall caused power outages to numerous buildings along the Amherst Alley, also known as Dorm Row. The Cambridge Fire Department were present at the scene, and at the time of this writing, are investigating what happened. No injuries were reported. Power has since been restored.

According to an MIT Alert notification sent at 1:24 a.m., W85, Tang Hall, Next House, New House, and McCormick were among the buildings that lost power. In Next House, students were reportedly trapped within elevators, necessitating rescue by firefighters. At the time of this writing, it appears that all elevators have been cleared. 

At 2:10 a.m., an update from emergency.mit.net stated “the cause of the power outage has been determined as damage to MIT electrical equipment caused by the manhole explosion.” The update also said that equipment was being repaired by the electrical crew, but did not provide a timeline for restoring power. Amherst Alley and Audrey Street are open.

At 6:52 a.m., an update from emergency.mit.net stated that power had been restored to "all impacted buildings." The grassy area between W85 and Tang Hall remain closed.

In other affected residences, limited lighting remains and internet connection appears to be intact following the activation of backup generators. Some students reacted with consternation to the outage. Emma Shi ’26 lamented the loss of refrigeration, stating, “it's so over for my frozen meal prep.” Across the athletic fields, residents of New Vassar reported lights briefly flickering at around the time of the explosion. 

Although infrequent, manhole explosions have been reported in the area in recent months. In Aug. 2023, the fiery explosion of two manholes shut down Harvard Square and leaked noxious gases into the air, including carbon monoxide. In Jan. 2024, multiple manhole explosions occurred near Northeastern University, causing traffic diversions. Authorities attributed the explosions to rainfall and a cable failure. Prior to the explosion on MIT’s campus, a steady rain had poured down on Cambridge and Boston in the afternoon and into the night of May 5.

The last reported time that MIT had lost power was on the afternoon of Nov. 30 2012, when large parts of Cambridge, including East Cambridge and Kendall Square, went dark. 

More information can be found at emergency.mit.net.

This article will be updated as more information becomes available.