Cal State LA moved to remote learning for one-day as the “Pineapple Express” storm continues to sweep across Los Angeles County.
The National Weather Service predicts that the storm will continue until Tuesday and possibly into Wednesday. There is a “flood watch” in Los Angeles through 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
President Berenecea Johnson Eanes sent out a campus-wide email Monday afternoon, announcing the return to campus for staff, students and faculty on Tuesday. In her email, she advised all to leave plenty of time for their commute to campus and to be considerate of any “hazardous conditions.”
Eanes let students and faculty know that classes would be held remotely on Monday due to the unsafe conditions caused by the rainstorm, in a university-wide email sent on Sunday.
“The storm will bring intense rain, strong winds, the possibility of flash flooding and other hazardous conditions,” Eanes wrote in a campus-wide email. “Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency and city officials have asked residents to remain off the roads during the storm. My cabinet and I, along with other emergency response personnel, have decided to err on the side of caution. The steps we are taking represent the safest course of action.”
Gov. Newsom “proclaimed” a state of emergency in eight Southern California counties, including L.A. County, due to the impact of the storms on Sunday, according to the governor’s office.
“California: this is a serious storm with dangerous and potentially life-threatening impacts. Please pay attention to any emergency orders or alerts from local officials,” Newsom said in his press release. “California is ready with a record number of emergency assets on the ground to respond to the impacts of this storm.”
Fourth-year student Joseph Chiechi said he thinks the university “played it smart” with their decision to move to remote learning today and that he is relieved.
“This rain has been unpredictable, it’s just been really heavy. It’s dangerous, especially if you’re commuting,” Chiechi said.
Fourth-year student James Plata said he drives 20 to 30 miles to campus and that the traffic caused by the rainstorm makes it somewhat difficult for him to get around. He said he understands the university’s decision to cancel in-person classes for the day.
“I guess it depends for each person. I can see how that might be a really big inconvenience if someone had something important planned in class today. I do see why they might cancel it for safety [reasons],” Plata said.
Eanes said in a campus-wide email, that the university’s facilities team has been “addressing storm-related needs on our campus.”
However, she also added in her email that the elevators at the campus transit center are currently “non-operational.” .
“Our team is in touch with Metro to get their elevators up and running,” Eanes said in her email.
L.A. County received up to 11 inches of rain between Sunday and Monday, according to a weather report by NBC Los Angeles.
The university referred students and faculty to visit the Metro website for more information on alternative routes.
