Campus Alert Archive
Lamar

1,800 Students, No Drinking Water, and a Basketball Arena Shelter for 500: Lamar University and Hurricane Harvey

TXhurricaneemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

On Sunday, August 27, 2017, Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas canceled the first week of fall 2017 classes — originally scheduled to begin Monday, August 28 — as Hurricane Harvey stalled over southeast Texas. The semester opened just after Lamar had moved approximately 1,800 students into residence halls, and the surrounding Beaumont area experienced catastrophic flooding that destroyed the city's water system serving more than 120,000 residents. Lamar's Montagne Center basketball arena served as a Red Cross shelter for approximately 500 evacuees from surrounding Beaumont neighborhoods, while 1,800 on-campus students sheltered through the storm without potable water.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
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Institution
Lamar University
Public R2 · TX
~17,000 studentsLU Alert
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 ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from KFDM Southeast Texas school closures coverage of August 27-28, 2017397 chars
LU Alert: Due to Hurricane Harvey, Lamar University has canceled classes scheduled for Monday, August 28 and Tuesday, August 29. The first week of fall 2017 classes will be delayed. The campus remains open for residential students; do not attempt to travel. Beaumont is experiencing catastrophic rainfall. Residence halls remain operational. Continue to monitor LU Alert and lamar.edu for updates.

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

Issued Sunday afternoon August 27 — class cancellation came less than 24 hours before the originally scheduled Monday August 28 first day of fall 2017 classes
Lamar's August 27 alert came two days after Harvey's Friday August 25 landfall near Rockport — Harvey had moved northeast and was stalling over the Beaumont area producing 40-50+ inches of rainfall over four days
The 'campus open for residential students, do not attempt to travel' framing reflects that approximately 1,800 students had already moved into residence halls for the fall and could not safely evacuate
UPDATESMS+1d
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from BIC Magazine coverage of Beaumont water-system failure during Hurricane Harvey419 chars
LU Alert: The City of Beaumont's water system has failed. No potable tap water is available on the Lamar campus. Bottled water is being distributed at residence hall front desks. Do not drink tap water. Do not use tap water for cooking or brushing teeth. Boil-water advisory is in effect indefinitely. The Montagne Center has been opened as a Red Cross shelter for displaced Beaumont residents. Classes remain canceled.

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

Beaumont's water-system failure on Tuesday August 29 left more than 120,000 residents without potable water for approximately 10 days — one of the largest municipal water failures in modern U.S. history
Montagne Center — Lamar's 10,080-seat basketball arena — opened as a Red Cross shelter Tuesday August 29 and housed approximately 500 evacuees from surrounding flooded Beaumont neighborhoods
The 'no potable tap water on campus' situation lasted 10 days into the semester start — Lamar pushed the start of class to Wednesday August 30 with reduced operations
UPDATEEmail+3d
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from Texas International Education Consortium account of Lamar University's Harvey response473 chars
LU Alert: Lamar University will begin the fall 2017 semester on Wednesday, August 30 — two days later than originally scheduled. Classes will begin on a modified schedule. The boil-water advisory remains in effect. Bottled water continues to be distributed at residence halls and academic buildings. The Montagne Center continues to operate as a Red Cross shelter. Faculty are asked to be flexible with students who could not travel to Beaumont because of Hurricane Harvey.

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

Wednesday August 30 was the actual first day of fall 2017 classes at Lamar — two business days after the originally scheduled Monday August 28 start
The Montagne Center shelter remained operational well into the semester — overlapping with classes was a logistically novel situation for Lamar Athletics and Emergency Management
Faculty flexibility language reflects that many Lamar students traveled from Houston-area communities still under floodwater and could not safely reach Beaumont
Context

Background

Lamar University is a public R2 research university in Beaumont, Texas, approximately 90 miles east of Houston in the Golden Triangle region of southeast Texas. Hurricane Harvey was a Category 4 Atlantic hurricane that made first U.S. landfall near Rockport, Texas at 10:00 PM CDT on Friday, August 25, 2017 with sustained winds of 130 mph. Harvey then stalled over southeast Texas for four days, producing 'unprecedented' rainfall — more than 60 inches in some Houston-area locations and 40-50+ inches in the Beaumont/Port Arthur/Orange triangle. Harvey occurred the opening weekend of the fall 2017 semester, just after Lamar had moved approximately 1,800 students into residence halls. The original Monday, August 28 first day of classes was canceled in the Sunday August 27 LU Alert; the eventual first day was Wednesday, August 30 — two business days later. The single most consequential event was the Tuesday, August 29 failure of the City of Beaumont's water system, which serves more than 120,000 residents. An estimated 110,000 structures were flooded in the Beaumont area. The Lamar campus itself did not flood significantly, but had no potable tap water for approximately 10 days into the semester. Lamar's Montagne Center — a 10,080-seat basketball arena — opened as a Red Cross shelter on Tuesday, August 29 and housed approximately 500 evacuees from surrounding Beaumont neighborhoods for several weeks, overlapping with the start of the fall semester. The Harvey response prompted Lamar to develop a comprehensive Resilience and Recovery Plan that has been activated for subsequent storms including Hurricane Beryl in 2024.
Analysis

Key Findings

Lamar canceled the first week of fall 2017 classes — originally scheduled to begin Monday, August 28 — and ultimately started Wednesday, August 30
Harvey arrived just after Lamar moved approximately 1,800 students into residence halls; those students sheltered through the storm and ensuing water-system failure
The City of Beaumont's water system failed Tuesday, August 29 — no potable tap water was available on campus for approximately 10 days
The Lamar Montagne Center (10,080-seat basketball arena) opened as a Red Cross shelter on Tuesday August 29 and housed approximately 500 evacuees from surrounding Beaumont neighborhoods
Approximately 110,000 structures were flooded in the Beaumont area; the Lamar campus itself did not flood significantly
The Harvey response prompted Lamar's comprehensive Resilience and Recovery Plan activated for subsequent storms including Hurricane Beryl in 2024
Lamar is the only major Texas public R2 in the Golden Triangle and the only one with on-campus housing significantly affected by Harvey's rainfall stall
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Hurricane Harvey: Southeast Texas school closures (KFDM)
    kfdm.com
  2. Official
    Lamar University Resilience and Recovery Plan
    lamar.edu
  3. industry media
    Universities Navigating Natural Disasters: Advice from Lamar University (TIEC)
    1103.tiec.org
  4. industry media
    Texas colleges cope with Hurricane Harvey (Inside Higher Ed)
    insidehighered.com
  5. News
    Harvey brings minor damage, class cancellations to Texas universities (Texas Tribune)
    texastribune.org
  6. industry media
    Beaumont Closes Fire School Flooded by Harvey (Industrial Fire World)
    industrialfireworld.com
  7. Official
    Hurricane Preparedness Guide (Lamar University)
    lamar.edu
  8. encyclopedia
    Hurricane Harvey (Wikipedia)
    en.wikipedia.org
Tags
hurricanehurricane-harveycampus-closuretexasbeaumontlu-alert2017-hurricane-seasonpublic-r2water-system-failureboil-water-advisoryred-cross-sheltermontagne-centergolden-triangle
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion