In Photos: Gardner-Webb University Recovers from Hurricane Helene

Post-Helene Campus-17 — A fallen tree near the Lutz-Yelton dormitory.

By Marianne Luedeman

Photos by Marianne Luedeman

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb University has been steadily recovering from Hurricane Helene in the two weeks since the storm.

Hurricane Helene, which is the most deadly storm on record since Hurricane Katrina, hit North Carolina on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. In the two weeks since it made landfall, North Carolina is still recovering from widespread power outages, infrastructure damage, and loss of life.

Western North Carolina, where the hurricane hit the hardest, saw unprecedented levels of damage. Asheville, Lake Lure, Chimney Rock and other western municipalities will still be rebuilding for the foreseeable future.

Gardner-Webb University was in the path of the storm and saw significant damages in many places on campus. The university was notably without power from the morning of Sept. 27 through Sept 29.

The university also saw the uprooting of multiple trees, some of which collided with the walls of dormitories or landed in in-use parking lots. One student who lives in the Lutz-Yelton dormitory saw his window blown out of its frame during the worst of the storm.

A student’s window is blown out at the Lutz-Yelton dormitory.

Students were encouraged to stay in their dorms or stay at Tucker Student Center during the outage where power was provided via generator. The Gardner-Webb Cafeteria, which was also powered by a generator, was used to provide meals to the students still on campus.

Residential students during the outage were also under curfew. Students had to return to their dorms by 10 p.m. in order to bypass the locked doors that typically open via card system.

Gardner-Webb remained closed until Tuesday, Oct. 1, before reopening and returning to normal class hours. The relief effort, which extends to Boiling Springs and Cleveland County, remains underway two weeks later.

Many clubs and organizations on campus, such as the wrestling team, also contributed to the relief effort in the days following Helene’s landfall.

Photos of Gardner-Webb in the immediate aftermath may be viewed below (click to enlarge):