On Monday afternoon on the 20th April, the Wellington region’s wet weather suddenly increased, leading to flooding in various areas. Suburbs such as Vogeltown, Berhampore, Island Bay, Newtown, and Kingston, suffered damage both due to the water and subsequent landslips. Overnight the city endured 77mm of rain. As many as 150 callouts were received by emergency services during the period and photos released by One News in the following days showed cars submerged and trapped on fences, and homes and roads damaged. One Karori man was also reported missing.
Due to the sudden severe weather many schools and educational institutions announced closures on Monday and Tuesday. While all three campuses of Victoria University of Wellington were not in the majorly affected areas, all closed from the Monday afternoon. Nexus decided to investigate the effect the weather event has had on Victoria students. It is important to note that this was a small group of students we spoke to and even if they were not necessarily impacted, many Wellington citizens and students have been, and any severe weather event should be taken seriously.
Due to the location of the campuses many students living nearby were fortunate enough to have both themselves and their homes go relatively unscathed. According to one student when the University did close, the Kelburn campus hub remained open as some students were unable to return to their homes that afternoon. Food and water were provided by staff members from the VUWSA.
Most of the campus buildings had no notable damage, however the Kelburn Student Union building’s roof was damaged and required repair, and as a result the top floor was inaccessible for a few days. Students wanting to access the University clinic were redirected through to the doors on the other side of the student union building. The clinic was also closed over the course of flooding.
Due to campus closures, many students had their timetables disrupted, with some tutorials being cancelled for the week. Additionally, some tests had been scheduled to commence over Monday and Tuesday were cancelled/postponed. The University also released a statement advising students not to travel around Wellington until the flooding and severe weather subsided.
One Victoria student noted that very little warning of severe weather was given to Wellingtonians until the flooding occurred and therefore had little time to prepare of leave campus. According to one scientist while speaking to One News, it is often difficult to adequately predict and prepare for such small but quickly developing events like the Wellington floods. Meteorologists were aware and did warn however that heavy rain was going to occur.
While it does not eliminate the impacts the current weather has had on Wellingtonians, the discussion has once again sparked questions about how global warming and climate change will continue to affect communities. From a student perspective, it is natural to be fearful of the future and the scarcity and conditions extreme weather events may bring. It also begs the question as to how such events may impact future students who may already be on a tight budget and may lose their assets or shelter. Additionally, students may not receive the quality of education they are paying for, if classes are continuously cancelled due to rough weather.
