Campus Alert Archive
SSU

Cars Parked on Higher Ground, Students Bused Out: How an HBCU on the Georgia Coast Evacuated for Matthew

GAhurricaneemergency notificationhigh confidence
Confirmed Threat

Beginning Tuesday, October 4, 2016, Savannah State University — the oldest public HBCU in Georgia — began coordinating a phased evacuation of its Atlantic-coast campus as Hurricane Matthew approached the Georgia coast. Dean of Students Bonita Bradley told students they could leave after 3:00 PM Tuesday if they were able; those who could not arrange transportation were directed to their residence director and bused to inland shelters. Students were NOT permitted to drive their own vehicles off campus — those vehicles were parked on higher ground on campus for storm protection. The campus remained closed through Monday, October 10.

Alerts
4
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
Savannah State University
Hbcu · GA
~4,700 studentsTigerAlert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

4 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 The Tiger's Roar (SSU student newspaper) coverage of student preparations including the Dean of Students statement from October 4-5, 2016621 chars
TigerAlert: Due to Hurricane Matthew, Savannah State University is preparing for possible campus closure and evacuation. Chatham County has not yet issued a mandatory evacuation. Students who are able to leave campus may do so after 3:00 PM today, Tuesday, October 4. Students who cannot arrange their own transportation should see their residence director in their hall. If a mandatory evacuation is issued, university transportation will be provided to inland shelters. Students will not be permitted to drive personal vehicles off campus; cars will be parked on higher ground on campus. Continue to monitor TigerAlert.

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

The 'no personal vehicles, cars parked on higher ground' policy is distinctive to Savannah State and reflects that the campus borders the Wilmington River salt marsh — a vehicle storm-protection arrangement few other HBCUs use
Dean of Students Bonita Bradley was the named institutional voice in early Matthew communications — an unusual delegation of emergency-management public messaging away from the President's Office
3:00 PM Tuesday opt-in self-evacuation reflects that Chatham County had not yet ordered mandatory evacuation — that came later that evening for coastal Tybee Island and adjacent areas
UPDATESMS+20 h
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from Georgia Tech-Savannah parallel closure announcement and contemporaneous SSU social-media activity from October 5, 2016410 chars
TigerAlert: MANDATORY EVACUATION. Savannah State University is now requiring all students to evacuate campus. Buses will depart for inland shelters beginning at 1:00 PM today. All academic and residential buildings will be locked. Students remaining on campus will be loaded onto university transportation. Personal vehicles will be parked on higher ground on campus. The campus is closed until further notice.

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

Chatham County issued mandatory evacuation for coastal areas mid-day Wednesday October 5 — SSU's mandatory order followed approximately within hours
1:00 PM Wednesday bus departure for inland shelters — about 44 hours before Matthew's closest approach to Savannah around 9:00 AM EDT Friday October 7
Parallel closure at Georgia Tech-Savannah (just across the Savannah River) on the same day reflects coordinated Savannah-region higher-education emergency response
UPDATESMS+3d
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from NPR coverage of Hurricane Matthew passing through Savannah and the citywide curfew on Friday October 7, 2016304 chars
TigerAlert: Hurricane Matthew has passed Savannah. Damage assessment is ongoing. The campus remains closed; do not return. A curfew is in effect across Savannah. Personal vehicles on campus are being inspected. Updates will follow regarding the return of evacuated students and the resumption of classes.

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

Matthew's eyewall passed approximately 35 miles offshore of Savannah at peak intensity (Category 2, 105 mph) — significantly less direct impact than Daytona Beach (Bethune-Cookman) the day before
Citywide curfew in Savannah from Friday evening through Saturday morning — SSU coordinated its do-not-return messaging with city-level enforcement
Personal-vehicle inspection language reflects that cars stored on higher ground had to be checked for flood and debris damage before return to owners
ALL CLEAREmail+6d
Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from The Tiger's Roar follow-up coverage and SSU's announced reopening schedule for Tuesday October 11, 2016481 chars
TigerAlert: Savannah State University will resume normal operations on Tuesday, October 11. Classes will resume Tuesday on the regular schedule. Buses will return evacuated students to campus Monday afternoon and evening. Personal vehicles have been inspected; owners may collect their cars at the higher-ground parking areas beginning at 8:00 AM Tuesday. Damage to the campus was limited. Faculty are asked to be flexible with students whose off-campus arrangements were affected.

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

Tuesday October 11 reopening — six days after Wednesday October 5 mandatory evacuation — was relatively quick for a campus that had executed full evacuation transport
Personal-vehicle return at 8:00 AM Tuesday illustrates the logistical complexity of the SSU vehicle-storage policy that few other universities use
Limited damage to the campus reflects Matthew's offshore passage; Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach experienced the more direct major-hurricane impact two days earlier
Context

Background

Savannah State University is the oldest public HBCU in Georgia, founded in 1890, with a campus on the Atlantic coast of Georgia bordering the Wilmington River salt marsh in Savannah. The TigerAlert emergency notification system delivers SMS, email, and voice messages to enrolled students. Hurricane Matthew was a Category 4-5 Atlantic hurricane that paralleled the U.S. east coast in October 2016, weakening to Category 2 (105 mph) by the time it passed approximately 35 miles offshore of Savannah at 9:00 AM EDT on Friday, October 7. Beginning Tuesday, October 4, Dean of Students Bonita Bradley issued initial guidance allowing students to leave campus after 3:00 PM Tuesday with their own transportation. As Chatham County moved toward mandatory evacuation for coastal areas on Wednesday October 5, SSU made its evacuation mandatory and began bus transport at 1:00 PM Wednesday to inland shelters. The most distinctive feature of the SSU response was its 'no personal vehicles, cars parked on higher ground' policy — students were not permitted to drive their own vehicles off campus; instead vehicles were parked on higher ground on campus for storm protection, and university transportation moved students to inland shelters. Parallel closure occurred at Georgia Tech-Savannah on October 6-7, reflecting coordinated regional higher-education emergency response. Matthew's closest approach to Savannah at 9:00 AM EDT Friday October 7 produced significant flooding and downed trees but the SSU campus itself suffered limited damage. Students were bused back Monday October 10 and classes resumed Tuesday October 11. The Matthew response shaped the SSU TigerAlert template later used for Hurricane Irma in 2017, Hurricane Florence (regional response) in 2018, and the 2022 active-shooter response.
Analysis

Key Findings

Savannah State began a phased evacuation Tuesday October 4 with voluntary self-evacuation; mandatory evacuation followed Wednesday October 5 after Chatham County's coastal evacuation order
Bus transport to inland shelters began at 1:00 PM Wednesday October 5 — about 44 hours before Matthew's closest approach Friday morning October 7
Distinctive 'no personal vehicles, cars parked on higher ground' policy: students were not permitted to drive personal vehicles off campus; cars were stored on higher ground on campus and university transportation moved students
Hurricane Matthew passed approximately 35 miles offshore of Savannah at 9:00 AM EDT Friday October 7 as Category 2 (105 mph) — less direct than Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach two days earlier
SSU's campus damage was limited; students were bused back Monday October 10 and classes resumed Tuesday October 11
Dean of Students Bonita Bradley was the named institutional voice in early Matthew communications — an unusual delegation of emergency-management public messaging
Parallel closure at Georgia Tech-Savannah on October 6-7 reflects coordinated Savannah-region higher-education emergency response
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    Students' reaction to Hurricane Matthew approaching Savannah (The Tiger's Roar)
    tigersroar.com
  2. Official
    Hurricane Matthew forces Georgia Tech-Savannah to close October 6-7 (Georgia Tech News)
    news.gatech.edu
  3. national media
    Hurricane Matthew Rolls Into Savannah, Ga., Which Is Now Under Curfew (NPR)
    npr.org
  4. News
    Hurricane Matthew Rips Through Savannah And Southeast Coast (Savannah Tribune)
    savannahtribune.com
  5. encyclopedia
    Hurricane Matthew (Wikipedia)
    en.wikipedia.org
  6. government
    NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER TROPICAL CYCLONE REPORT HURRICANE MATTHEW (AL142016)
    nhc.noaa.gov
Tags
hurricanehurricane-matthewcampus-evacuationcampus-closuregeorgiasavannahhbcutigeralert2016-hurricane-seasonmandatory-evacuationvehicle-storagechatham-countywilmington-river
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion