Wednesday afternoon, spurred by news reports of the approaching storm, the necessary precautionary measures were taken, explains Peter Bloemers, head of Safety and Security at TU/e. “These included removing the large flags at the lake's edge, pinning down a number of items, and doing our best to inform people about the coming storm.”

In addition, building contractor Van Wijnen was contacted well in advance - they renovate Atlas - about the cranes on both sides of the building. “People in MetaForum could see the cranes swaying and were pretty concerned. But the building contractor had 'released' them, enabling them to move freely in this weather. It looks scary, but this is the best course of action,” emphasizes Bloemers. Naturally, the cranes were not in use during the storm, he adds.

Thursday at about ten o'clock, two edging pieces came loose from the roof of Flux and were blown to the ground. They were lightweight metal edging sections, but “they aren't structural”. The two pieces landed between parked cars; “we were fortunate that no one was standing there at the time”. Since then Flux has only be accessible by the pedestrian bridges; the regular entrances are closed until the wind drops. “Only then can we go up onto the roof to take a look.” TU/e's own first responders (BHV volunteers) are on hand to direct visitors and passersby around the hazard.

Trees toppled

The situation at Vertigo is still unclear but under consideration. “Real Estate Management is looking at the state of the facade structure, and whether some parts may have come loose and measures will need to be taken.” In addition, the light cube in the lake has been blown over and in total five trees in various places on campus have been toppled by the storm. Bloemers: “Our Fire Department has been busy all morning clearing up as much debris as possible. We can't have access to the campus being impaired, suppose an ambulance were needed somewhere on site.”

All students and employees received an 'emergency message' on Thursday morning informing them of TU/e security's urgent advice that they stay indoors or work at home if at all possible. “A great deal of construction work is in progress on the campus. A sheet or block of polystyrene foam could easily be caught in the wind. If that lands on your head, it could cause a severe injury.” According to Bloemers, it appears that many people heeded the advice.