{
  "id": "2024-09-27-east-tennessee-state-university-hurricane-helene",
  "slug": "east-tennessee-state-university-hurricane-helene-2024-09-27",
  "institution": {
    "name": "East Tennessee State University",
    "shortName": "ETSU",
    "state": "TN",
    "type": "public-r2",
    "alertSystemName": "ETSU Safe",
    "enrollment": 13800
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-09-27",
    "endDate": "2024-10-02",
    "type": "hurricane",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "headline": "Hurricane, September 27, 2024",
    "summary": "Hurricane Helene's remnants pounded northeast Tennessee on September 27, 2024, with catastrophic flooding in [Erwin, Greeneville, and the Nolichucky River basin](https://www.etsu.edu/etsu-news/2024/09-september/university-response-to-hurricane-helene.php). ETSU canceled classes from Monday, September 30 through Wednesday, October 2 and [converted parts of campus into a regional support hub](https://www.elizabethton.com/2024/09/30/hurricane-helene-response-at-etsu/), collecting flood buckets and hygiene kits while a community blood drive ran in partnership with Marsh Regional Blood Center.",
    "outcome": "Classes canceled September 30 through October 2. No campus deaths. ETSU operated as a regional relief hub for the broader northeast Tennessee community, which lost more than 200 lives in the broader Helene disaster.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "channel": "email",
      "timestampApprox": "Friday, September 27, 2024, as Helene's remnants moved into northeast Tennessee",
      "verbatimText": "Dear ETSU community,\n\nOur campus community is heartbroken by the devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene, and we know many in our region are suffering unimaginable losses. Our first priority is to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students, faculty, staff, friends, and neighbors. As the emergency situation facing our area continues to unfold, we encourage everyone on campus to offer maximum flexibility and work together to support one another during this difficult time.\n\nStudents who are unable to attend class or need to miss class to support loved ones will be given allowances to make up work at a later date, and faculty members are asked to adjust deadlines to allow students to focus on recovery efforts over the next few days. We recognize many students do not have access to Internet or electricity right now, so any course work deadlines for this weekend are suspended. Supervisors are asked to provide similar levels of flexibility to employees across campus. If you have questions or concerns about needing to miss work or class, please reach out to your instructors or supervisors so they will know the best way to support you.\n\nWe recognize many in our community are struggling and will do whatever we can to offer support during this time, living by our values that people come first. We are fortunate that damage to campus was minimal, and our facilities are operational and safe. As much as possible, we will attempt to keep campus operating as usual, knowing that many students, employees, and community members will be in need of the services and support ETSU provides. We are working closely with leaders across campus and within the ETSU Health system to identify ways we can mobilize our resources to support the broader community.\n\nThe Bucs Rebuild Together will serve as a single source of information for students, faculty, and staff to find assistance. Additionally, that page will offer ways to help support our neighbors for those of you who are able and looking for a way to help. More information will be provided throughout the weekend via email, online, and on ETSU's main social media channels. If it becomes necessary to limit services, cancel classes, or adjust access to facilities, that information will be shared via email and on our social media channels. If emergency situations arise, information will be sent out through the campus alert system. If you have not yet downloaded the ETSU Safe app to receive emergency alerts, please do so by visiting etsu.edu/safety . You should also text ETSU to 237233 to receive emergency text alerts.\n\nIf you are concerned about an immediate threat to your or others' safety, please call Campus Safety at (423) 439-4480 or dial 911.\n\nPlease stay safe and take care of one another.\n\nSincerely,\n\nBrian Noland, President\n\nKimberly D. McCorkle, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceDescription": "ETSU News — Response to Emergency Situation Caused by Hurricane Helene (President Noland / Provost McCorkle)",
      "annotations": [
        "Verbatim campus-wide letter from President Brian Noland and Provost Kimberly D. McCorkle (Dear ETSU community).",
        "Replaces reconstructed ETSU Safe monitoring SMS; this is the authenticated institutional community message for the Helene emergency window."
      ],
      "characterCount": 2881,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.etsu.edu/etsu-news/2024/09-september/university-response-to-hurricane-helene.php"
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "channel": "email",
      "timestampApprox": "Sunday, September 29, 2024, evening, as the scale of regional damage became clear",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://news.etsu.edu/articles/etsu-hurricane-helene-relief-efforts",
      "sourceDescription": "ETSU News — Hurricane Helene Response at ETSU (class cancellation announcement)",
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "channel": "email",
      "timestampApprox": "Monday, September 30, 2024, as ETSU set up community relief operations",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.etsu.edu/etsu-news/2024/09-september/etsu-hurricane-helene-relief-efforts.php",
      "sourceDescription": "Re-verified via case sources on www.etsu.edu",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Florida's [Big Bend region on the night of September 26, 2024](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Helene), then accelerated north-northwest, retaining tropical storm strength deep into the southern Appalachians. Northeast Tennessee (including Unicoi, Greene, Carter, and Washington counties) saw [historic flooding along the Nolichucky and Watauga rivers](https://www.weather.gov/ohx/hurricanehelene). The town of Erwin, just south of Johnson City where ETSU is located, lost an entire hospital wing of patients who had to be airlifted off the roof of Unicoi County Hospital as floodwaters submerged the first floor. ETSU's [Johnson City campus avoided catastrophic damage](https://www.etsu.edu/etsu-news/2024/09-september/university-response-to-hurricane-helene.php) but suspended classes for three days and pivoted into a regional aid hub, collecting flood buckets and hygiene kits and hosting blood drives. The university also explicitly suspended weekend coursework deadlines and waived attendance requirements for students supporting affected family members. Statewide, [Helene killed at least 17 people in Tennessee](https://www.elizabethton.com/2024/09/30/hurricane-helene-response-at-etsu/) and inflicted hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "ETSU canceled classes Monday through Wednesday (Sept 30-Oct 2) while keeping the rest of campus operational as a support hub",
    "The university used its ETSU Safe app and text subscription (text 'ETSU' to 237233) to push storm updates",
    "ETSU served as a regional collection site for flood relief supplies and hosted a Marsh Regional Blood Center drive",
    "Policy explicitly waived leave requirements for employees and attendance for students aiding loved ones"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Response to Emergency Situation Caused by Hurricane Helene - ETSU News",
      "url": "https://www.etsu.edu/etsu-news/2024/09-september/university-response-to-hurricane-helene.php",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-14"
    },
    {
      "title": "Hurricane Helene Response at ETSU - ETSU News",
      "url": "https://www.etsu.edu/etsu-news/2024/09-september/etsu-hurricane-helene-relief-efforts.php",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-14"
    },
    {
      "title": "Hurricane Helene response at ETSU - Elizabethton Star",
      "url": "https://www.elizabethton.com/2024/09/30/hurricane-helene-response-at-etsu/",
      "type": "local-media",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-14"
    },
    {
      "title": "September 26-30, 2024 Hurricane Helene - National Weather Service Morristown",
      "url": "https://www.weather.gov/ohx/hurricanehelene",
      "type": "official-archive",
      "accessDate": "2026-05-14"
    },
    {
      "title": "ETSU News — Hurricane Helene Response at ETSU (class cancellation announcement)",
      "url": "https://news.etsu.edu/articles/etsu-hurricane-helene-relief-efforts",
      "type": "official-archive"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "hurricane",
    "helene",
    "flooding",
    "campus-closure",
    "appalachian",
    "tennessee",
    "regional-aid-hub",
    "etsu-safe"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-14",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-20",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}