As Western North Carolina continues to grapple with the devastation and devastation left in its wake by Hurricane Helene, classes at any of the region’s universities won’t resume for nearly a month.
UNC Asheville Chancellor Kimberly van Noort announced this on Tuesday classes will be suspended at least until October 28 as a result of the storm and its lingering effects.
The university first canceled classes on Thursday morning, September 26, as Helene approached the area, and the university has remained closed ever since. The university initially planned to remain closed until October 9, but the closure will now last weeks longer.
The university will remain in Condition 3, or closed, until at least October 14. Under Condition 3, campus activities will be suspended and only essential employees will be allowed on campus. If the university moves to a different, less severe condition level after October 14, some activities may resume and additional employees may be allowed on campus, but classes will remain canceled until October 28.
The campus “suffered minimal structural damage” from the storm, but has been without power, running water or internet since Friday, September 27, Van Noort said.
“Communication with our campus and the broader community has been extremely limited due to poor communications infrastructure, but we are slowly regaining our ability to connect,” she said.
All students were on campus within 72 hours of the storm hitting Asheville, Van Noort said. The university helped students find safe travel routes off campus and provided them with gas for their cars, she said. “A very small number of students” were moved to another UNC System campus.
The university housed about 1,600 students on campus before the storm, and during the storm about 1,300 students remained, a total that was confirmed “through a coordinated door-to-door, room-to-room effort” led by the university. student affairs department. Students who remained during the storm “were provided with drinking water, three meals and support services daily” until they moved.
“Over the past few days, we worked hard to ensure we knew where every student was on campus and to meet their needs,” Van Noort said.
Although students are not on the Asheville campus, they can continue to access mental health services through all other UNC System schools.
“Bulldogs, you are resilient and we look forward to welcoming you home,” said van Noort.
Disaster relief, additional updates
The university has established an emergency relief fund, which is available online at give.unca.edu.
Additional updates from UNC Asheville on Helene’s impact are available at new.unca.edu/bulldogalert.
