{ "id": "2024-09-26-furman-university-hurricane-helene", "slug": "furman-university-hurricane-helene-2024-09-26", "institution": { "name": "Furman University", "shortName": "Furman", "state": "SC", "type": "private-liberal-arts", "alertSystemName": "FU Safe / Furman Alerts", "enrollment": 2900 }, "incident": { "date": "2024-09-26", "endDate": "2024-10-07", "type": "hurricane", "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification", "resolution": "confirmed-threat", "headline": "Hurricane Helene's remnants closed campus for over a week; hundreds of trees down", "headlinePublic": "Hurricane Helene's remnants closed campus for over a week; hundreds of trees down", "summary": "Furman University closed its Greenville, SC campus at [5:30 PM EDT on Thursday, September 26, 2024](https://www.instagram.com/furmanuniversity/p/DAY8gAvNAaw/) as the remnants of Hurricane Helene tracked into the Upstate. Overnight, the campus received [11.3 inches of rain and wind gusts up to 68 mph](https://www.dailygamecock.com/article/2024/11/how-hurricane-helene-impacted-furman-universitys-students-ozburn-smith), bringing down hundreds of trees, flooding buildings, and knocking out power and internet. The university extended its closure several times, ultimately [canceling classes through Friday, October 4, 2024](https://www.furman.edu/news/furman-monitoring-tropical-cyclone/) and reopening campus on Saturday, October 5 with classes resuming Monday, October 7, an operational disruption of about eleven days.", "outcome": "Campus closed September 26 through October 4, 2024. Family Weekend canceled; athletics events postponed. Wi-Fi fully restored in student housing by Friday, October 4. No fatalities at Furman. Significant tree loss across the historic campus.", "casualties": { "killed": 0, "injured": 0 } }, "alerts": [ { "sequence": 1, "type": "initial", "timestamp": "2024-09-26T13:00:00-04:00", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "Hurricane Helene is growing into a major storm that is expected to cause significant damage as it moves inland across Georgia, South Carolina, Western North Carolina and Tennessee. Helene is forecast to drop 8-10 inches of rain and cause wind gusts up to 60 mph in the Greenville area through Friday afternoon.\n\nIn anticipation of this extreme weather event, Furman University will close its campus beginning at 5:30 p.m. today through Friday.\n\nDuring this closure, all scheduled activities on campus are cancelled (including all in-person classes, labs and meetings related to coursework, CLPs and student activities). Unfortunately, this also includes Family Weekend and athletics events through Friday.\n\nEmployees required to work on campus during the closure will be notified by their departments. Other employees may not report to work on campus during the closure. Staff not asked to work on campus are not required to work remotely and are paid according to the inclement weather policy.\n\nThe Furman emergency team will assess the state of campus mid-day Friday and will decide by 2 p.m. tomorrow whether to reopen campus and proceed with events on Saturday.\n\nIn the meantime, Dining Services, Furman Police, Facilities Services and Housing & Residence Life will remain available to students in a limited capacity.\n\nStudents will receive more information on available campus services in a separate email. Family Weekend attendees will also receive a communication with more details.\n\nFaculty will receive additional information in a separate email and will communicate with their students about plans for their classes.\n\nIf you are traveling, please use caution and avoid driving through large puddles or standing water on roadways. Students and employees should be aware of their surroundings while walking on campus during strong winds and rain.\n\nThe timing of a severe weather event is never good, and Helene will cause disruptions and inconveniences as families travel to campus for Family Weekend. The safety of our students, faculty, staff and greater community is of utmost importance.\n\nFurman Police will continue to work with the National Weather Service to monitor conditions on campus and send emergency notifications as needed. Visit the Police Department website for more information about severe weather warnings. Call Furman Police at 864-294-2111 or use the LiveSafe app to request assistance or to report weather-related issues.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://www.furman.edu/news/furman-monitoring-tropical-cyclone/", "sourceDescription": "Furman University Instagram post (verbatim text reproduced on official account)", "annotations": [ "Verbatim text confirmed from Furman University's official Instagram post issued September 26, 2024", "The 8-10 inch rainfall forecast in this initial alert turned out to be conservative, actual rainfall at Furman was 11.3 inches, and gusts hit 68 mph rather than the forecast 60 mph", "Issued in early afternoon to give residential students and commuters time to prepare; 5:30 PM EDT closure threshold preceded the storm's worst impacts by 6-8 hours", "DEEP AUDIT correct 2026-08-02: instagram.com live is JS shell (no caption body). Official furman.edu/news posts full Sept 26 campus closing email; archive is opening paragraph only. Correct to complete official campus message; retarget sourceUrl. Unreachable IG ≠ demote." ], "characterCount": 2452, "lastUpdated": "2026-08-02" }, { "sequence": 2, "type": "update", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "The remnants of Hurricane Helene blew through South Carolina’s Upstate region early Friday morning. Dozens of trees are down across Furman’s campus. Some buildings are experiencing flooding and leaking roofs. There is extensive flooding in the Greenville area and widespread power outages in the region, including campus. There is no indication when power will return. Fortunately, there have been no reported injuries on campus. Crews have been working since this morning and will continue to be on campus making repairs and removing trees. The safety of students, faculty and staff remains our utmost concern.\n\nBecause of the extensive damage to campus and to the region, and the uncertainty of having electricity, the campus will remain closed through at least Saturday, and Furman has canceled all Family Weekend activities. Athletics events have been postponed. This is in the best interest of our students, faculty, staff and families.\n\nFor students:\n\nAll student events and activities through at least Saturday are canceled.\n\nThe Dining Hall is open today (Friday) until 8 p.m.and will be open tomorrow 9 a.m.-8 p.m. for sandwiches, snacks and other cold items. The PalaDen is not open, as was planned.\n\nStudents should stay indoors as much as possible while crews continue to clear debris and make repairs.\n\nAvoid walking or sitting near large trees; they still might fall.\n\nDo not leave campus unless absolutely necessary; conditions are dangerous throughout the area.\n\nGiven the dangerous conditions throughout the Upstate, we recommend that students stay on campus and that families not come onto campus if possible.\n\nIf you have an emergency, contact the Furman Police at 864-294-2111 or via the LiveSafe app. 911 service in Greenville is down.\n\nUpdates will be provided at furman.edu/news as they become available.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "sourceUrl": "https://www.furman.edu/news/furman-monitoring-tropical-cyclone/", "sourceDescription": "Furman University September 27, 2024 update (verbatim reproduced via Instagram and Furman news)", "annotations": [ "Verbatim wording confirmed from the Furman Instagram update appended to the original Sept 26 closure post", "This update specifically named the Family Weekend cancellation, a major institutional event that draws thousands of visitors to the small liberal arts campus", "Phrase 'uncertainty of having electricity' is unusually candid; many institutional alerts during Helene used vaguer language about 'ongoing assessment'", "DEEP AUDIT correct 2026-08-02: instagram.com JS shell. Official furman.edu Sept 27 7:45 p.m. update contains archive mid-paragraph plus surrounding damage assessment and student instructions. Archive is incomplete excerpt. Correct to full official update; retarget sourceUrl.", "RESET SPRINT b5 Fable 5 A2: recaptured furman.edu Sept 27 update. Curly apostrophes, NBSP before Friday, and served 8 p.m.and (no space after span) preserved. Dual HTML match. Paired correct. First-burst untouched." ], "characterCount": 1827, "timestampApprox": "Around noon EDT on September 27, 2024 (approximate; landfall-period update)", "lastUpdated": "2026-08-02" }, { "sequence": 3, "type": "update", "timestampApprox": "Early October 2024 (exact timestamp not available)", "channel": "email", "verbatimText": "We have some good news to share. Furman will reopen Saturday, Oct. 5, and students who left may return any time to their campus housing. Classes will resume Monday, Oct. 7, and employees should plan to return to work. We understand that many students and employees may still be facing challenges due to Helene and the storm damage. Students who are unable to return or may be delayed should email academic.deans@furman.edu or notify their professors. Employees who cannot return to work should contact their supervisors.\n\nThe Duke Library will open this weekend on its regular schedule (Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday 10 a.m.-Monday 1 a.m.) for students, faculty and staff only. Swipe access will be required.\n\nThe Dining Hall will be open to students, faculty and staff only.\n\nThe employee health clinic will be open on its regular schedule starting Monday.\n\nWind damage on campus was extensive, and cleanup of trees and brush will continue for many weeks. Please continue to use caution when walking across campus.\n\nSome limitations in services, such as internet, might be expected due to continuing power outages in the area. Please be patient as we work through these issues.\n\nEmployees and students are asked to report through the normal channels any damage to buildings or housing that might have gone unnoticed.\n\nFall Break\n\nFall break will be held as scheduled, Oct. 14-15. No classes will be held during the break.\n\nUtility workers on campus\n\nFurman will be hosting up to 150 utility workers starting tomorrow through next Friday. It is an honor to contribute to recovery efforts by hosting these workers, who are helping restore power to the large area of the Southeast impacted by Helene. More crews working in the area will be staying at other locations throughout the Upstate.\n\nThe workers here will be housed in the Younts Conference Center and in the football Field House. You might see their trucks parked overnight between Younts and the football facilities, but there should be minimal disruption to campus, if any.\n\nWe will continue to provide updates as needed.\n\nThank you to everyone for your patience and understanding. Helene was a storm of historic proportions and enormous impact. Our Furman community has shined brightly during this difficult time. It is the care that we show for each other and for those hit even harder that sets Furman apart.\n\nThe rest of the semester may look a little different, but we have grown adept at excelling in trying times. Please continue to take care of yourselves and each other.", "isVerbatimConfirmed": true, "confidence": "high", "sourceUrl": "https://www.furman.edu/news/furman-monitoring-tropical-cyclone/", "sourceDescription": "Furman News — Campus reopens Saturday update (Oct. 3, 2024 2:30 p.m.)", "annotations": [ "Verbatim Furman campus message body beginning \"We have some good news to share\" (Oct. 3, 2024 update on furman.edu/news).", "Replaces abbreviated reconstruction of the reopen timeline.", "DEMOTE 2026-07-20 SuperGrok: Sourced from furman.edu/news (newsroom) reopen notice. Seq1-2 remain Instagram official posts pending separate review; seq3 newsroom genre fails tightened ops/news rules.", "SHELF NIGHT b68 flip: dual independent HTML fetch 2026-08-24 of the official campus-message body on furman.edu/news. Live flatten whitespace-fold matches committed text. sha256 050ba48cc6e9145baca7c4cec71778ddd94f57a95b22a3b27f4713fe26195b20. SPN 429. First-burst already in consensus; not recoded." ], "characterCount": 2544 } ], "context": "Furman University, a private liberal arts college of about 2,900 students in [Greenville, South Carolina](https://www.furman.edu/news/furman-monitoring-tropical-cyclone/), sits at the foot of the Blue Ridge escarpment, a topographic feature that amplified Helene's rainfall as the storm dragged moist air upslope on September 26-27, 2024. The university [closed campus at 5:30 PM EDT on Thursday, September 26](https://www.instagram.com/furmanuniversity/p/DAY8gAvNAaw/) based on a National Weather Service forecast calling for 8-10 inches of rain and 60 mph gusts. Reality exceeded the forecast: Furman recorded [11.3 inches of rain and 68 mph gusts](https://www.dailygamecock.com/article/2024/11/how-hurricane-helene-impacted-furman-universitys-students-ozburn-smith), bringing down [hundreds of mature trees](https://www.furman.edu/about/president/communications/recovering-from-tropical-storm-helene/) across the historic lakeside campus and damaging vehicles, buildings and infrastructure. Helene knocked out power and Wi-Fi to substantially the entire campus, including residence halls. Furman's [emergency response involved cross-departmental collaboration](https://www.furman.edu/news/furman-responds-to-hurricane-helene-with-collaboration/), with grounds, facilities, residence life and campus safety staff working around the clock to clear debris and reopen common spaces. Family Weekend (scheduled for the weekend of Sep 27-29 and a major source of alumni and parent visitors) was canceled outright. The eleven-day disruption (with classes canceled Sept 27 - Oct 4, campus reopened Oct 5, classes resumed Oct 7) was among the longest documented weather closures in Furman's modern history and a comparison case to larger SC schools' Helene responses (USC Upstate, Clemson, USC Aiken).", "keyFindings": [ "Furman's initial closure decision was made roughly 8 hours before the worst impacts arrived, an early-closure timing point for small liberal arts colleges in the Upstate, which typically operate with smaller emergency operations staffs", "The forecast in the initial alert (8-10 inches of rain, 60 mph gusts) was exceeded by the conditions Furman recorded (11.3 inches of rain, 68 mph gusts)", "Furman's verbatim 'uncertainty of having electricity' language stands out from peer institutional Helene messaging that typically used vaguer terms like 'continuing impact assessment'" ], "sources": [ { "title": "Campus reopens Saturday, Classes resume Monday, Oct. 7 (Furman News)", "url": "https://www.furman.edu/news/furman-monitoring-tropical-cyclone/", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Furman University Instagram closure announcement (September 26, 2024)", "url": "https://www.instagram.com/furmanuniversity/p/DAY8gAvNAaw/", "type": "official-social" }, { "title": "Recovering from Tropical Storm Helene (Office of the President, Furman University)", "url": "https://www.furman.edu/about/president/communications/recovering-from-tropical-storm-helene/", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "How Hurricane Helene impacted Furman University's students (Daily Gamecock)", "url": "https://www.dailygamecock.com/article/2024/11/how-hurricane-helene-impacted-furman-universitys-students-ozburn-smith", "type": "student-newspaper" }, { "title": "Furman responds to Hurricane Helene with collaboration (Furman News)", "url": "https://www.furman.edu/news/furman-responds-to-hurricane-helene-with-collaboration/", "type": "official-archive" }, { "title": "Colleges in Helene's path cancel classes, deal with aftermath (Inside Higher Ed)", "url": "https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/safety/2024/09/30/colleges-helenes-path-cancel-classes-deal-aftermath", "type": "local-media" } ], "confidence": "high", "tags": [ "hurricane", "hurricane-helene", "south-carolina", "private-liberal-arts", "extended-closure", "tree-damage", "power-outage", "family-weekend-canceled", "verbatim-confirmed" ], "dateAdded": "2026-05-14", "lastUpdated": "2026-08-30", "addedBy": "ingestion" }