Hurricane Helene swept through the southeast late last week, bringing catastrophic winds and flooding to Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Students from these states reported flooding and damage in their home states and expressed the struggle of being far from loved ones, unable to provide physical assistance.
Helene made landfall at 10:10 p.m. CDT on Sept. 26 along the Florida Gulf Coast, with 140 mph winds, as reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. As of publication, NBC News states that the death toll from Helene has reached 190, with hundreds still unaccounted for. With over 400 miles of destruction, entire communities have been leveled in North Carolina, and more than 1 million remain without electricity from Florida to Virginia.
Junior Emma Smith, a staff photographer for The Hustler, is from the Tampa, Florida, area and shared that this is not the first time she experienced a natural disaster during her time at Vanderbilt. Smith was a first-year when Hurricane Ian occurred in 2022. She said it felt like “deja vu” to experience Hurricane Helene two years later.
“[Helene] affected the area that I grew up in a significant way,” Smith said. “I have a significant amount of friends who have lost everything.”
First-year Janessa Shaikh, also from the Tampa area, shared her experience with Helene. Shaikh said she was grateful to be far from the destruction, but she expressed sympathy for her friends who are beginning their college careers amidst Helene’s effects.
“One of my friends who borders the water experienced a couple feet of flooding inside her home, so the damage is very great,” Shaikh said. “You have to take away couches and [be wary] of water damage which can cause mold.”
First-year Molly Soukup is from Orlando, Florida, and said Hurricane Helene affected her hometown.
“The hurricane blew up a transformer, knocked down trees and flooded the area,” Soukup said. “My mom, who works in insurance, has been working overtime every day since.”
Vanderbilt’s 2024 Spring Enrollment Report recorded 1,847 undergraduate students who reside in one of the main six affected states from Helene. With a Spring 2024 total undergraduate enrollment of 6,799, just over 25% of Vanderbilt undergraduates live in an affected state.
Vanderbilt University’s Student Affairs sent an email on Sept. 27 to students with home addresses in affected states — including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia — to offer support resources for students during this difficult time. Smith expressed gratitude for the email.
“I think [the email] was great, but at the same time, I can find those if I look them up, whether or not the hurricane hit my home,” Smith said. “I know the resources are always here, but it feels different [when it happens]. The world keeps moving forward.”
Shaikh said her professors offered support to students affected by the hurricane.
“Individual teachers have asked if anyone’s been affected, and [the professors] have followed up with that by saying ‘if you need help or extra time to get something done, or if you’re struggling, please come to us,’” Shaikh said.
Smith echoed Shaikh’s response about the support of Vanderbilt faculty and staff but also added that she has felt most supported by her community.
“I think the Vanderbilt community is amazing and can come together in times [of need] to offer a lot of support,” Smith said. “I think that [Hurricane Ian] was the first time I had really strong community and people surrounding me, and those are the same people who are surrounding me now, two years later.”
