Campus Alert Archive
SSU

Three Days Without Power and Criticism of Communication: Savannah State's Hurricane Helene Response Leaves Students in the Dark

GAhurricaneadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On the evening of September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene swept through Savannah bringing powerful winds and heavy rain that flooded parts of the Savannah State University campus and triggered tornado sirens, causing the entire campus to lose power by Friday morning, September 27. Students and parents criticized the administration for inadequate communication during the three-day blackout, which lasted until Sunday evening, September 29, when Georgia Power partially restored electricity to the campus.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Savannah State University
Hbcu · GA
~4,400 studentsSSU Emergency Alert (Everbridge)
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTPush
Approximate reconstruction238 chars
SSU ALERT: Hurricane Helene is approaching the Savannah area. Tornado sirens are active on and near campus. Shelter in place immediately in the lowest level of your building away from windows. Avoid all outdoor areas. Updates will follow.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Tornado sirens and warnings alerted all on and near campus to take shelter on the night of September 26, 2024 as Hurricane Helene arrived
Campus experienced intense winds and heavy rain throughout the night of September 26
Parts of the campus flooded on the morning of September 26, with students waking to heavy rain before the main storm hit that evening
UPDATEPush
Approximate reconstruction312 chars
SSU UPDATE: The campus has lost power due to Hurricane Helene. All in-person classes are cancelled. Classes will move online. Students in residence halls should remain in place. Food service and essential services are being organized. Updates will continue as power restoration is coordinated with Georgia Power.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

By the morning of September 27 the entire campus had lost electricity
University shifted all classes to online instruction
Students criticized the administration for inadequate communication about post-storm conditions and food service
ALL CLEARPush
Approximate reconstruction284 chars
SSU UPDATE: Power restoration has begun across campus. Georgia Power is actively working to restore electricity to affected buildings. Charging stations and cooling locations remain available. Mental health resources are available through Student Affairs. Thank you for your patience.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Power began restoring to campus around 7 PM EDT on Sunday, September 29, 2024, ending the approximately three-day blackout
University had provided social media posts about food service and charging station locations during the outage
Mental health resources were offered to students who were distressed by the extended power loss
Context

Background

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 4 hurricane on September 26, 2024, and moved rapidly northward through the Southeast before its remnants devastated parts of Appalachia. In Savannah, the storm brought powerful winds, heavy rain, flooding, and tornado activity. Savannah State University students woke September 26 to flooding on parts of campus, and that evening intense winds and heavy rain with tornado sirens prompted campus-wide shelter-in-place instructions. By Friday morning, September 27, the entire campus had lost electricity. A large tree snapped and fell in front of the Social Science building, and debris covered much of the campus. The power outage lasted approximately three days -- power began partially restoring Sunday evening, September 29, around 7 PM EDT. During this period, students and parents expressed frustration with the administration's communication, particularly over limited information about food availability, cooling, and housing for the many students who could not return home because Hurricane Helene had also impacted their hometowns. The university shifted all classes online and made social media posts about food service and charging station availability. SSU's Everbridge-based emergency alert system used by the university coordinates with the Chatham Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) for hurricane notifications, but the multi-day communication gap during the blackout prompted public accountability questions about the institution's emergency communication protocols.
Analysis

Key Findings

A three-day campus-wide power outage following Helene affected all buildings and residence halls, with students left without electricity from September 27 through late September 29
Students could not evacuate home because Helene had damaged or closed roads to many students' hometowns, trapping them on a powerless campus
Public criticism of the administration's communication during the blackout was widely covered by student and regional media, highlighting a gap between emergency alert protocols and sustained crisis communication
Tornado warnings activated sirens on and near campus during Helene's landfall evening, representing a multi-hazard event combining hurricane, flooding, and tornado threats
Outcome
Campus experienced widespread power outage from September 27 through September 29, 2024. Parts of campus flooded, large tree brought down in front of the Social Science building. Classes shifted to online instruction. Students unable to return home due to hurricane impacts on their hometowns were housed in residence halls without power. Student and parent complaints about inadequate communication were publicly reported. Power began restoring Sunday evening September 29.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Lights Out: SSU Students Discuss Their Experience During Hurricane Helene's Three-Day Power Outage (Savannah Tribune)
    savannahtribune.com
  2. News
    Students, parents concerned about Savannah State's response to Helene power outages (WSAV)
    wsav.com
  3. Student Paper
    Savannah State Students Left in the Dark (Tiger's Roar)
    tigersroar.com
Tags
hurricanehbcugeorgiasavannahpower-outagehelenecommunication-failuretornado-warning
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion