{
  "id": "2024-09-25-florida-state-university-hurricane-helene",
  "slug": "florida-state-university-hurricane-helene-2024-09-25",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Florida State University",
    "shortName": "FSU",
    "state": "FL",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "FSU Alert",
    "alertPlatform": "Everbridge",
    "enrollment": 45000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2024-09-25",
    "endDate": "2024-09-29",
    "type": "hurricane",
    "cleryCategory": "emergency-notification",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat",
    "headline": "Campus closed for nearly five days as Hurricane Helene makes landfall in the region",
    "headlinePublic": "Campus closed for nearly five days as Hurricane Helene makes landfall in the region",
    "summary": "Florida State University [closed its Tallahassee campus at 7:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, September 25, 2024](https://news.fsu.edu/news/university-news/2024/09/25/a-message-from-president-mccullough-hurricane-helene/), in advance of Hurricane Helene and did not reopen until midnight on Monday, September 30. Classes were canceled Wednesday through Friday as the Category 4 hurricane made landfall in the Big Bend region. [All 12 State University System of Florida institutions reopened within one week](https://www.flbog.edu/2024/09/30/all-12-state-universities-are-open-less-than-one-week-after-hurricane-helene-made-landfall/) of landfall.",
    "outcome": "The campus remained closed for nearly five days. Essential business operations and housing services continued throughout the closure. The university resumed normal operations at 12:00 AM EDT on Monday, September 30, 2024. No significant structural damage to the main Tallahassee campus was reported."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Morning of September 25, 2024 EDT, alongside the 7:00 AM campus closure",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "Dear FSU Family,\n\nAs Hurricane Helene approaches, I want to emphasize that the safety of every member of our campus community is my top priority. Florida State University officials have been closely monitoring conditions for several days, and we have taken every precaution to prepare for what is expected to be a major storm. Teams across campus have been working diligently to secure our facilities and provide essential services for our students in campus residence halls.\n\nPlease make sure you have a plan to shelter in place throughout the storm and prepare for potential power outages. Stay informed by regularly refreshing alerts.fsu.edu for the latest updates and instructions. We will navigate this storm together, and our strength as a community will see us through.\n\nTake care and stay safe.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://news.fsu.edu/news/university-news/2024/09/25/a-message-from-president-mccullough-hurricane-helene/",
      "sourceDescription": "FSU News: 'A Message from President McCullough: Hurricane Helene' (the email that paired with the 7:00 AM closure)",
      "annotations": [
        "Full verbatim text of President Richard McCullough's September 25, 2024 message, distributed via email and posted on FSU News at the same time the Tallahassee campus closed at 7:00 AM EDT",
        "Notable for explicitly directing the community to 'shelter in place throughout the storm' rather than evacuate, a function of FSU's main campus sitting outside Tallahassee's storm-surge zones",
        "Names alerts.fsu.edu rather than the FSU Alert SMS system as the canonical source of further updates, consistent with FSU's policy of treating that web archive as the system of record"
      ],
      "characterCount": 802
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "update",
      "timestampApprox": "Updated 8:45 a.m. ET Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 (FSU Alert archive PDF)",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.sc.fsu.edu/attachments/article/1817/FSU_Alert_Hurricane_Helene_2024-09.pdf",
      "sourceDescription": "FSU Alert Helene archive PDF (sc.fsu.edu)",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "annotations": []
    },
    {
      "sequence": 3,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2024-09-26T21:11:00-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "All persons on the FSU Tallahassee Campus should shelter in place in designated safe areas. It is unsafe to go outside. Remain inside away from doors and windows, until the threat has passed. \nCheck http://alerts.fsu.edu or 850-644-INFO for updates.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/FSUAlert/status/1839472795950166287",
      "sourceDescription": "@FSUAlert on X (verbatim)",
      "characterCount": 249,
      "annotations": [
        "@FSUAlert shelter-in-place order during Hurricane Helene impacts on the Tallahassee campus"
      ]
    },
    {
      "sequence": 4,
      "type": "update",
      "timestamp": "2024-09-27T07:33:00-04:00",
      "channel": "twitter-x",
      "verbatimText": "Severe weather threat has passed, continue to exercise caution and report hazards.\nThe severe weather threat from Hurricane Helene has passed Tallahassee. Individuals should exercise extreme caution and avoid debris. Please report any new or previously... https://evbg.co/f1eeic",
      "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/FSUAlert/status/1839632307650715656",
      "sourceDescription": "@FSUAlert on X (verbatim raw t.co)",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "annotations": [
        "Full text from FSU Alert Helene archive PDF; X post carries same lead sentence and Everbridge short-link",
        "Posted 7:33 a.m. ET Friday Sept 27, 2024"
      ],
      "characterCount": 278
    },
    {
      "sequence": 5,
      "type": "resolution",
      "timestampApprox": "Posted 11:15 a.m. ET Friday, Sept. 27, 2024",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.sc.fsu.edu/attachments/article/1817/FSU_Alert_Hurricane_Helene_2024-09.pdf",
      "sourceDescription": "FSU Alert Helene archive PDF (sc.fsu.edu) — resume Monday",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "As Hurricane Helene approached the Florida Gulf Coast in late September 2024, Florida State University announced a campus closure in advance of the storm. [President McCullough issued a message on September 25](https://news.fsu.edu/news/university-news/2024/09/25/a-message-from-president-mccullough-hurricane-helene/) stating that the safety of every campus community member was the top priority. The Tallahassee campus closed at 7:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, September 25, and classes were canceled through Friday. Hurricane Helene made landfall late on September 26 in Florida's Big Bend region as a [Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph](https://www.tomahawknation.com/florida-state-football-fsu-seminoles-college-cfb-acc-norvell-team-roster-schedule-game/2024/9/25/24253800/tropical-storm-potential-hurricane-helene-cancel-closure-campus-track-forecast-soccer-volleyball). While the main Tallahassee campus is not located within a storm surge evacuation zone, the FSU Panama City campus sits within a Category 3 storm surge zone. Teams across campus worked to secure facilities and provide essential services for students in campus residence halls. The university reopened at midnight on September 30, and [all 12 State University System of Florida institutions were operational within one week](https://www.flbog.edu/2024/09/30/all-12-state-universities-are-open-less-than-one-week-after-hurricane-helene-made-landfall/) of landfall.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "FSU closed its Tallahassee campus for nearly five full days, from Wednesday morning through Sunday night",
    "Essential operations and campus housing continued throughout the closure",
    "The main campus is not in a storm surge evacuation zone, but the Panama City campus is in a Category 3 zone",
    "All 12 State University System of Florida institutions reopened within one week of landfall"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "A Message from President McCullough: Hurricane Helene (FSU News)",
      "url": "https://news.fsu.edu/news/university-news/2024/09/25/a-message-from-president-mccullough-hurricane-helene/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "All 12 State Universities Open Less Than One Week After Hurricane Helene (State University System of Florida)",
      "url": "https://www.flbog.edu/2024/09/30/all-12-state-universities-are-open-less-than-one-week-after-hurricane-helene-made-landfall/",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "FSU closes campus as Hurricane Helene approaches (Tomahawk Nation)",
      "url": "https://www.tomahawknation.com/florida-state-football-fsu-seminoles-college-cfb-acc-norvell-team-roster-schedule-game/2024/9/25/24253800/tropical-storm-potential-hurricane-helene-cancel-closure-campus-track-forecast-soccer-volleyball",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "FSU Alert (official alert page)",
      "url": "https://alerts.fsu.edu/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "type": "official-social",
      "title": "@FSUAlert Helene shelter in place",
      "url": "https://x.com/FSUAlert/status/1839472795950166287"
    },
    {
      "title": "FSU Alert Hurricane Helene September 2024 archive PDF",
      "url": "https://www.sc.fsu.edu/attachments/article/1817/FSU_Alert_Hurricane_Helene_2024-09.pdf",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "@FSUAlert X — Helene severe weather threat passed",
      "url": "https://x.com/FSUAlert/status/1839632307650715656",
      "type": "official-social"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "hurricane",
    "campus-closure",
    "florida",
    "hurricane-helene",
    "multi-day-event",
    "class-cancellation",
    "essential-operations"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-03",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-20",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}