“You Really Want This Degree”: UCT Student Gets Caught in Cape Town Storm Trying To Attend Lectures

• A UCT student braved a Cape Town storm with flash flood warnings and 51km/h winds to get to her lectures
• The video shows her sitting alone in an empty lecture hall before eventually admitting she was stranded
• People couldn't stop laughing and sympathising at the same time, with many saying they would never have left home in the first place

A UCT student's dedication to her degree had South Africa equal parts impressed and in stitches after she shared what happened when she decided to brave the Cape Town storm. @brigalia posted the video on 11 May 2026. She showed the full journey, from the moment she received an email from her lecturer saying lectures would still go ahead in person, to the aftermath of actually making it there.

The weather that day was no joke. Her phone showed 16 degrees Celsius with rain expected throughout the entire day. There was also a flash flood risk warning for Cape Town and winds reaching 51km/h. She headed out anyway. The footage showed her being pushed around by the wind, phone shaking, barely able to hold herself steady as the storm battered her on the way to campus. By the time she got inside, her umbrella was broken and lying next to a bin, and her pants were soaked all the way from her hips down to her shoes.

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She set up her laptop in the lecture room and sat there alone. Not long after, a second email came through from the lecturer saying that, after monitoring the roads and traffic, they'd decided to cancel in-person lectures after all, apologising for the last-minute change.

With the storm still raging outside, she ended up stranded in the library. She hung her jacket over a chair to dry and, having leggings on underneath, took her soaked pants off to dry too while she waited for conditions to ease enough to head back.

The Cape Town storm worsens

The timing of the video wasn't lost on anyone. On 10 May 2026, South Africa officially declared a national disaster following days of severe weather across multiple provinces. The Western Cape was among the worst-hit areas, with the Garden Route described as experiencing its worst flooding in 30 years.

At least 45 roads were closed, and several communities were cut off entirely. A level 8 severe storm warning had been issued for the Western Cape between 10 and 12 May, with damaging winds, heavy rainfall and dangerous waves expected.

Watch the TikTok clip below:

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Mzansi comments on the UCT students' storm experience

People shared their thoughts on @brigalia's TikTok page:

@thembi.mhambii said:

"If you don't graduate... Imma be mad 😭"

@zan.d_1 added:

"That would be the last time I attend that lecturer's class 😭😭😭"

@khensanihlaise pointed out:

"Mind you, ALL UCT lectures are recorded 😭"

@katt_llego wrote:

"You really want this degree, neh, no matter what it takes 😭🕊️"

@nhlanhlamakamo admitted:

"Even if it was not raining, I was not going there 😭😭"

@rainnn_za noted:

"A lecture will be made available for students unable to travel safely. This one is kind of on you 😭😭"

More on Cape Town storm damage

• Briefly News reported on a TikTok video showing rooftops ripped clean off homes in Wynberg after the level 8 storm tore through Cape Town.
• Residents filmed the destruction in real time, with the images painting a picture of just how severe the storm conditions had become.
• A truck was caught on camera being rocked by Cape Town crosswinds on an open road, leaving many feeling disturbed.

Source: Briefly News