Hurricane Francine made landfall late on Wednesday, Sept. 11 as a category 2 storm, resulting in high rain totals, strong winds and widespread outages.

Due to the storm, Southeastern closed from 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10 to 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 13, after initially planning to reopen Thursday, Sept. 12. On-campus residents were urged to leave, while those who stayed had to remain in their rooms.

Freshman early childhood education major Ripley Townsend decided to stay in the dorms during the hurricane, as they said their hometown typically floods during hurricanes. 

“My experience staying during the hurricane was pretty tame compared to other hurricanes, the weather wasn’t as bad as it was in other areas,” Townsend said. 

Other students who stayed on campus also reported a relatively easy experience. 

Freshman music education major Silas Everhart said he felt safe in the dorms during the storm. Early childhood education major Tyrese Brumfeld, also a freshman, said it was “very scary” but “very calming” and that he never lost power.

Tangipahoa Parish endured 6-8 inches of rain, while Hammond in particular withstood wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour. Overall, the storm was much less severe than category 4 Hurricane Ida was in August 2021, when SLU suffered structural damage to D. Vickers Hall and Pottle Hall and remained closed for nearly a month.

While SLU made it through the hurricane largely intact, other universities in Louisiana were not as fortunate. 

Nicholls State University sustained serious damage as the brunt of the storm passed right over Thibodaux. Francine brought flooding to half the campus’ buildings and ripped off the roof of Gouaux Hall, which was recently repaired following damages sustained during Hurricane Ida. 

Nicholls completely lost power until Saturday, Sept. 14. The campus resumed normal operations on Monday, Sept. 16.

Francine began its path to Louisiana on Monday, Aug. 26 as a tropical wave in the Atlantic Ocean. The wave strengthened over two weeks, eventually becoming a tropical storm. 

The storm officially became a hurricane on Monday, Sept. 9. Francine became the fifth hurricane to hit Louisiana since 2020. 

Over 300,000 south Louisiana residents lost power during the hurricane, as Francine brought wind gusts as high as 68 miles per hour. Rainfall lasted much of Wednesday night; in the Northshore, Covington received a state-high 9.63 inches of rain.

Recovery efforts are underway across south Louisiana. Tangipahoa residents can call 800-451-1954 for assistance with debris pickup. The line will stay open until Friday, Sept. 27.

Yesterday, President Joe Biden made a major disaster declaration for Louisiana. Residents from Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary and Terrebonne parishes can apply for federal assistance. 

Residents could potentially receive grants for home repairs and temporary housing and low-cost loans for uninsured property loss. 

Call 800-621-FEMA to begin applying for federal assistance.