Hurricane Helene made landfall in Northwestern Florida on Thursday, Sept. 26, after being upgraded to a major Category 3 storm that afternoon. Widespread damage across a number of Southeastern states followed in its wake, with many areas experiencing flooding, downed trees, power outages and road closures. At least 175 people have died across six states, according to reports by CNN and The New York Times, and officials fear that the death toll is likely to rise with many remaining missing.
Hundreds of roads remain closed across the Southeast — especially in Western North Carolina and East Tennessee, which were hit particularly hard by the hurricane — hampering the delivery of supplies, and more than 2 million customers remain without power.
Student Housing Business reached out to universities, owners, operators and students across the Southeast to check in on how they fared during the storm and their experience in the aftermath.
Owners, Operators Weigh In
Denver-based Cardinal Group tracked its communities in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia through Hurricane Helene.
“Of those communities, four experienced power outages and several had minor roof leaks and flooding, with the largest impact felt in Asheville and Boone, North Carolina,” says Jenn Cassidy, president of property operations and experience with Cardinal Group. “Seven to 10 of those properties will likely need a third-party vendor intervention, but right now our properties in Boone and Asheville are still in assessment as access is limited for our teams due to road closures.”
“Our hearts and minds are with all of those that have been affected by Hurricane Helene,” she continue. “We encourage our teams to get out and support their local communities when safe as we start the process of restoring and rebuilding areas that have been significantly impacted.”
Asset Living also took comprehensive preparatory measures across its student housing portfolio, which includes 57 affected properties. “Fortunately, none of our properties sustained catastrophic damage and there were no threats to life,” says Division President Stacey Lecocke.
While some properties remain without power and internet — with restoration potentially taking up to two weeks in certain markets — Asset Living is actively managing these challenges as they persist, according to Lecocke. “Despite significant flooding and some structural damage, our top priority remains the safety and well-being of all residents and staff as recovery efforts continue,” she says.
“It was certainly a stressful few days leading up to and during the storm,” says Sandra Barfield, senior vice president with Atlanta-based PeakMade Real Estate. “We were very fortunate and experienced minimal disruption from Hurricane Helene — mainly power outages and light flooding. We continue to monitor for any aftermath post-storm, but so far, so good.”
Adam Byrley, chief operating officer of Raleigh, North Carolina-based The Preiss Co., also noted that most of the damage across the company’s portfolio was minor in nature. “We had some basic roof damage and tree issues,” he says. “We were spared compared to many others.”
The Student Perspective
SHB interviewed Molly Peisner, a student attending Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina and who evacuated the area over the weekend, on the university’s response to and impacts from Hurricane Helene. “After the hurricane, the campus was unrecognizable in some places,” she says. “There were countless fallen trees, flooded buildings, massive sink holes and landslides. It made Boone heartbreaking to look at.”
Peisner notes that the university handled the hurricane well, tending to student’s needs as quickly as possible. “All of the dining halls and student facilities remained open once they were able to regain power and water,” she says. “They also provided free food and water to the community. Our convocation center was probably the quickest to respond to the hurricane as they set up emergency aid tents and relief shelters for those who had been devastated by the hurricane.”
Peisner further notes that communication between the university and its students was as good as you could ask for given the circumstances. “They [the university] remained in pretty continuous contact, giving us updates on where to get food, water and shelter, as well as class cancelations,” she says. “Overall, I thought that the communication was timely and efficient and rarely kept students wondering about what was happening next.”
Operating under emergency conditions, Appalachain State University has suspended classes, though its central dining hall and all residence halls remain open for students; the university reports that no residence halls were structurally compromised.
UNC Asheville has cancelled classes until October 28, according to a letter to faculty and students issued today by Kimberly van Noort, the university’s chancellor. The campus remains without water, electricity and internet.
“From the very beginning, student safety and well-being have been our primary concern,” reads part of the letter. “Prior to the storm, we had over 1,600 residential students on campus. Through a coordinated dorm-to-dorm and room-to-room effort led by Student Affairs, we confirmed approximately 1,300 students remained on campus when the storm hit. Students who remained housed in the residence halls were provided daily with drinking water, three meals, and support services. Throughout the last few days, we’ve worked diligently to ensure we knew where every student was on campus and to meet their needs. We’ve assisted all students residing on campus with finding safe relocation options, including identifying safe travel routes, providing students in need of gasoline for their cars, and relocating a very small number of students to another UNC System institution. Within 72 hours of Tropical Storm Helene, all on-campus UNC Asheville students were safely relocated.”
—Katie Sloan