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The University of North Carolina at Asheville canceled classes through the rest of this month as a result of damage caused by Hurricane Helene, The News & Observer reported.
In the immediate wake of Helene, the college suspended classes until Oct. 9. Now, the campus will be closed until at least Oct. 14. At that point, if the university moves to another, less severe condition level, some operations may resume, but classes will remain canceled until Oct. 28.
“While the campus sustained minimal structural damage, UNC Asheville has been without electricity, running water, and internet since Friday,” Asheville chancellor Kimberly van Noort said in a statement Tuesday. “Communication with our campus and the broader community has been extremely limited due to impaired communications infrastructure, but slowly, we are gradually regaining our ability to connect.”
About 1,300 students were on campus when the storm hit, but UNC officials relocated those students within three days.
“We’ve assisted all students residing on campus with finding safe relocation options, including identifying safe travel routes, providing students in need of gasoline for their cars, and relocating a very small number of students to another UNC System institution,” van Noort said.
Appalachian State in Boone has also extended its campus closure. Classes are canceled and campus will remain closed through at least Oct. 11. That, combined with the university’s scheduled fall break, means courses will resume no earlier than Oct. 16. The modality and location of classes, once they do resume, is yet to be determined, officials said Wednesday. They’ll share another update by Oct. 9.
And Western Carolina University noted that while campus remains closed through at least Friday, the university’s football team will still play a scheduled home game on Saturday against Wofford College from South Carolina. The game, however, will not be open to spectators.
“Campus officials are also sensitive to the impact this storm has had on our local community and the scarcity of resources in Jackson County, including water, food, electricity and fuel and do not want to take away those much-needed resources to host a typical game-day experience,” the university said in a Facebook update. “The university understands that our fans will be disappointed, but we encourage our fans to channel their Catamount spirit in helping those who have been impacted by this historic storm.”
