Universities ‘dodge a bullet’ from meandering cyclone

Eastern Australian universities were easing back into normal operations after escaping major damage from a wayward cyclone that struck one of the continent’s most populated urban clusters.

Bond and Griffith universities, Queensland University of Technology and the universities of Queensland and Southern Queensland were gearing up to reopen most of their campuses on 12 March following week-long lockdowns triggered by Cyclone Alfred, the first storm of its type to hit the Queensland-New South Wales (NSW) border region in more than 50 years.

The University of the Sunshine Coast resumed face-to-face classes on 11 March. Southern Cross University (SCU), whose Lismore campus has been serving as an evacuation centre and emergency response headquarters, expected to reopen on 17 March.

Administrators, like the storm itself, were showing restraint. “No students will be disadvantaged by this disruption to your studies and assessments,” Griffith’s website guaranteed.

“We know many students and staff are still dealing with power outages, flood clean-ups and other cyclone-related issues,” Bond’s spokeswoman said. “As such we are making allowances for those unable to attend the campus in-person, or who need time to deal with pressing issues at home.”

Alfred’s impact zone included Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast – Australia’s third, sixth and ninth biggest cities, collectively accommodating almost 4 million people – as well as NSW’s Northern Rivers region.

The last typhoon to strike Australia’s Pacific coast this far south was Cyclone Zoe in March 1974. It and Cyclone Wanda, which had made landfall six weeks earlier about 300 kilometres to the north, caused some of the country’s worst recorded floods. Over a dozen people died and around 9,000 homes were inundated.

This year’s tempest produced fierce wind gusts, massive waves and extreme beach erosion, creating sand cliffs up to six metres high at some of Australia’s most photographed tourist strips. More than a metre of rain fell in some areas.

But while final damage and casualty tolls were yet to be tallied, Alfred has caused less carnage than its forerunners half a century ago – partly because it meandered for several days just off the coast and weakened before making landfall.

Universities have suffered fallen trees, extended power blackouts and widespread computer system outages, but there have been no reports of significant damage. “We dodged a bullet,” one spokesman said.

Bond, where many on-campus residents are international students without local family, established a “res retreat” for people to “wait out the weather event together and keep each other’s spirits up while staying safe”, the university’s spokeswoman said. Staff members stayed with them, “providing comfort and reassurance to students away from their homes and families”.

SCU was forced to shift some of its open day events online, in a repeat of events exactly three years earlier when floods devastated the Northern Rivers hub of Lismore and the town found long-term refuge in the university’s elevated campus.

This time, the floods proved less severe. The emergency operations centre on SCU’s Lismore campus was expected to wind up its operations within days.

“We realise we play an important role for the community,” an SCU spokeswoman said. “We put aside what we normally do…which we’re more than happy to do while still accommodating the needs of our students and staff.”

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com