TU Delft closes due to storm Eunice

In the province Zuid-Holland a code red will be in force from 2 PM onwards due to heavy storms and wind gusts up to 130 km per hour. The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) expects extremely dangerous situations with trees falling and objects flying around. Considerable damage may occur.

By closing early, the TU wants to enable staff and students to get home safely. Train passengers can expect NS to halt all trains at 14:00. “The safety of our students and staff is paramount. If you live on campus or are required to be on campus, please be alert and careful”, TU Delft writes in an e-mail to students and staff.

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^{An almost full windsock at the EEMCS faculty. In the background, the bus platform is slowly filling up with students who will hopefully be home before the storm.}

The departments Campus Real Estate, Park Management and Campus Safety, together with contractors active on the campus, have been busy preparing for the storm since the beginning of the week, a spokesperson says. Construction material, but also flags and advertising signs have been extra secured or removed. At the moment, employees are walking around the campus to check whether scaffolding is firmly in place.

[Update] Other universities
TU Delft is not the only university that is taking measures. The University of Twente, Erasmus University and Leiden University closed at 12.00 PM and Utrecht University will follow at 12.45 PM. Tilburg University urges students and staff not to come to campus at all. Radboud University emphasises that nobody is obliged to come to the campus and closes its doors at 15.00 hrs. At the University of Amsterdam, education will be halted this afternoon, but it may still be possible to obtain a doctorate.  

Wageningen University (WUR), on the other hand, will continue its education on campus. Students who cannot attend classes can contact their lecturers to make arrangements. The exams are not mandatory at WUR today, because not everyone will be able to come to campus. 

At VU University Amsterdam, all buildings will remain open. The exams after 12:00 have been cancelled, but whether teaching and practicals will continue was left to the discretion of the lecturers this morning. 

Delta/HOP, Josefine van Enk