Australian campuses remain closed as new floods threaten

More than a dozen university campuses on Australia’s saturated east coast remain closed, as a new bank of storms dumps water on catchments where floodwaters were just starting to recede.

Southern Cross University’s foundation campus at Lismore will remain off-limits for classes until at least May, after the worst flood in history left the town in ruins. The campus is on elevated ground 3km from the swollen Wilson River, but vice-chancellor Tyrone Carlin said it would remain in remote mode when classes resumed on 7 March.

“Our Lismore campus is in good order but it is also hosting a recovery centre for the Lismore floods,” he said. “With hundreds of people there, we had to make the decision to switch to online delivery for those students for the first part of the year.

“The university community has been deeply affected and heartbroken by the devastation of lives and property across the region. So many of our own staff, students and their friends and families have suffered enormous loss.”

The university’s biggest site on the Gold Coast will offer face-to-face classes, as will its other main campus in Coffs Harbour. Bond University’s campus on the Gold Coast is also open after closing on 28 February.

But four other southern Queensland institutions have experienced severe disruption as renewed storms produced torrential rain, flash floods, large hailstones and relentless lightning strikes in some areas. Griffith University and the University of the Sunshine Coast reopened their campuses on the morning of 3 March, only to close them again that afternoon.

“Please go home now if you are working at any of our campuses, but only if it is safe to do so,” Griffith’s Facebook page urged students and staff. “Take any equipment that you may need. Only critical staff should come to campus tomorrow and only if it is safe.”

Queensland University of Technology’s campuses and facilities are closed until 6 March, as are the University of Queensland (UQ) campuses at St Lucia and Gatton. UQ classes have been cancelled and events postponed.

Further south, the University of Newcastle closed its Ourimbah campus as a precaution on 3 March. Western Sydney University has closed its Hawkesbury campus near the flood-struck riverine suburb of Richmond.

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com