Texas A&M has announced that classes on the College Station campus will be canceled Monday and Tuesday due to the prolonged period of inclement weather brought on by Hurricane Harvey.
The University announced the closure in an alert sent out via Code Maroon Sunday afternoon.
“Officials and emergency response teams will continue to monitor area conditions and will provide updates as information becomes available,” A&M said in the emergency update. “Your safety is of paramount importance and travel at this time is not advised. Faculty, staff and students are advised to be extremely careful walking and moving about campus.”
Classes are cancelled tomorrow, Monday, Aug. 28 and Tuesday, Aug. 29. There will be essential personal reporting to campus, but only if they can do so safely. Dining halls will remain open to those who need them, and the on-campus buses will run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Off-campus buses will not be running.
The Memorial Student Center will be open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m., and the Student Recreation Center will be open during those hours as well. Student Health Services will be open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., though with limited staff, and the libraries will be open with limited staff as well.
The closing follows a press conference from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, where he urged Texans to seek safety.
“Texans need to be prepared for more rainfall tonight, on occasion, very heavy rainfall,” Abbott said. “We want to emphasize the importance, that when there is heavy rainfall, when there is rainfall, stay off the road… always try to seek the high-ground. Try to avoid going outside, when you can.”
Abbott added that the rains Harvey is bringing will be very high, potentially being an all-time record amount.
Abbott said that there are over 250 highway closures across the state, and that information about closures can be found at drivetexas.org.
One effect Harvey has wrought has been power outages. Abbott said that the Public Utilities Commission reported 316,000 power outages, which is lower than reported previously, but did not include numbers from Houston.
Abbott said that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s main priority is getting affected areas back on a reliable water source, as people have been boiling rainwater to make it safe to drink.
Abbott said for anyone who wanted to provide additional help, the best way to do so is through the Red Cross, either through their website or phone number. Abbott said to contact them and indicate they would like to help Texas.
Further updates on the situation can be found at emergency.tamu.edu.
