The University of Wollongong was hit by extreme rainfall yesterday, as students and staff found themselves either unable to get to classes or trapped on the campus due to the roads being flooded.
While Northfields Ave and Robsons Rd were under water during the peak of the downpour, Director of UOW Facilities Management Kathleen Packer said the campus managed to avoided any significant damage.
“In terms of civil infrastructure, like drains and creeks, there was no extensive damage,” Ms Packer said.
The university reported only minor leaks occurred in some facilities and they were easily cleaned.
Rain damage in UOW Building 40
Ms Packer said the Facilities management division completes weekly preventative maintenance to ensure the university can cope with such weather events.
“You never know how much you will get, but we have significant drainage infrastructure that handled the rain really well,” she said.
Roads around the @UOW Wollongong campus in Gwynneville have turn to rivers.
Video: @ebeneyy #nswfloods @NSWSES #uowcreative pic.twitter.com/v6kHtRiHN2
— UOWTV (@UOWTV) April 7, 2022
At the peak of the extended downpour, creeks around campus were filled to the height of the road and caused much of the flooding.
“When it gets to that intensity there will be at some point overflow, and that’s where we have to manage that with having staff manage the traffic,” Ms Packer said.
“But the campus drainage actually worked really well.”
Ms Packer said the facilities management division would meet in the coming weeks to see if it can identify any upgrades needed to handle future heavy weather events.
Some really dangerous driving conditions today. Huge amounts of water over the road around #Wollongong. Stay safe all! #weather #nswweather #floods #nswfloods pic.twitter.com/HmQY6cfXgu
— Olivana Smith-Lathouris (@OLathouris_WIN) April 6, 2022
Feature image: Georgia Wilshaw/UOW Students Buy and Sell