An organization that advocates for North Carolina’s private colleges has launched a fund for campuses impacted by Helene.
The North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities is looking to provide support to seven colleges and universities located in Western North Carolina: Brevard, Gardner-Webb, Lees-McRae, Lenoir-Rhyne, Mars Hill, Montreat and Warren Wilson.
Helene impacted each in varying degrees.
The storm brought severe flooding across the Southeast and is the deadliest hurricane since Katrina. Over 200 people have died, including more than 100 people from western North Carolina.
Some of the schools, like Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne University, only experienced minor leaks or a brief power outage. But others, like Montreat and Warren Wilson, helped students evacuate their campus after flooding left them without water, power and cell phone connectivity.
Montreat College President Paul Maurer said he’s still not sure when students will be able to return.
“You can’t really run a residential college without running water,” Maurer told WUNC. “And so how quickly the Montreat water supply gets reinstated is a mystery at this point. We’re obviously hoping sooner rather than later, because we’d like to bring our students back and finish the semester.”
Montreat, which serves about 1,000 students, canceled classes and activities for the entirety of this week, as his administration team works on a plan for reopening.
At Warren Wilson, a private college in Swannanoa with just over 700 students, there’s also no running water and little to no internet access. Severe rains from Helene flooded buildings, brought down trees, and temporarily left only one accessible road to campus.
According to campus updates from Warren Wilson President Damián J. Fernández, most of the school’s operational systems were also compromised. The school had to restart a campus well to access non-potable water to wash dishes and flush their toilets.
“We learned from regional elected officials and emergency management professionals that water service is the most complicated issue to solve,” Fernández wrote in a campus message. “It will take several weeks to do so.”
About 65 students remain on Warren Wilson’s campus as of Oct. 3.
Severe flooding from Helene also damaged several buildings on Montreat College’s campus. During the storm, water leaked in about six to eight buildings on campus – including the library, main administration building, and a residence hall.
“The first floor of Davis residence hall had several inches of water in it,” Maurer said. “That was part of the reason we had to get students off campus as quickly as possible.”
Montreat’s gymnasium, McAlister, was completely decimated by the flooding.
When people ask how bad was it really? And if we will be at work this week… Just look at what we have experienced. Things will never be the same. #OneMontreat #MontreatStrong #BeenthruHELENEandback #CavClan https://t.co/Q4wOSmSBnt
— Montreat College Baseball (@MontreatCavBase) October 1, 2024
The building houses the college’s fitness center, physical therapy center, and coaches’ offices. At the height of the storm, Maurer said the building had about five feet of standing water.
“We had a river running through one of our buildings,” Maurer said. “Our gymnasium is in very, very bad condition and we’re not certain at this point whether it’s structurally sound for the future.”
All students were evacuated by Sept. 30. About 20 miles down the road at UNC Asheville, students were being evacuated on the same day.
The public university is operating under emergency conditions. UNC Asheville’s chancellor, Kimberly van Noort, has canceled classes until at least Oct. 28.
In a Monday update to the community, she said the campus has been without running water, power, and internet since last week.
“We’ve assisted all students residing on campus with finding safe relocation options,” van Noort wrote in the campus message. “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.”
According to van Noort, the campus had “minimal structural damage.”
Two other public universities are also under emergency conditions — Appalachian State and Western Carolina.
Like UNC Asheville, both universities have delayed the reopening of their campuses. Appalachian State won’t hold classes until after Oct. 15.
Helene caused extensive water damage to several of its academic buildings, including its science building, gym, and convocation center. Interim chancellor Heather Norris said the main impact to Appalachian State’s campus was “unprecedented levels of flooding.”
“This disaster has been devastating to so many,” Norris said at a press conference. “Widespread lack of power and water, along with significant transportation and communication issues are affecting our students, faculty, and staff. Some have lost everything.”
The school briefly lost power and internet last week, but it has since been restored. Norris said all of the university’s residence halls are “structurally sound.”
Western Carolina plans to resume classes on Oct. 21, after fall break.
“This will allow our faculty and staff — many of whom have experienced and continue to experience significant life disruptions – time to recover in their personal lives, revise course syllabi, and prepare to resume normal university operations,” WCU wrote in a campus message.
WCU does, however, plan to keep its scheduled home football game against Wofford College on Saturday. The game will be played without spectators, as the NC Department of Transportation advises people keep roads clear for emergency and disaster relief.
At Montreat and Warren Wilson, administrators are beginning the repair process. Insurance adjusters have been to both campuses. At Montreat, Maurer said the college is working to replace carpet in water damaged buildings.
“We’re clearly in problem-solving repair mode at this point, and so things are getting better every day,” Maurer said. “The worst is behind us, easily behind us. But you’ve got to make a lot more progress in order to reopen a college and that’s what we’re focused on.”
Warren Wilson has hired vendors to clear trees, dry out buildings, and service its generator. Both schools are still assessing all of their needed repairs.
“Now that our students are safe, we are committed to delivering our academic program without any interruption to credit-earning or degree completion,” Fernández wrote. “Our students love this place and want to be back as soon as conditions permit.”
Several colleges and universities in Western North Carolina have set up funds for campus repairs and community recovery:
