FSU announces campus will reopen Wednesday

Crews started working Saturday to restore power to campus

Trees or large branches down in several places on Florida State University campus. Power was out at FSU and in much of Tallahassee Friday morning.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State University announced that the city of Tallahassee expects to gradually restore electrical power to the main campus beginning sometime Saturday, with residence halls and the central cooling system being the top priorities.

The administration said it is aware that many students living off campus, as well as faculty and staff, do not yet have power in their homes. Accordingly, FSU will not reopen the campus for regular business until Wednesday as power is restored throughout Tallahassee.

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The Leach Recreation Center and Strozier Library are anticipated to reopen Sunday once power is restored to those facilities so that students can utilize them.

All faculty and staff should expect to return to normal schedules at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday. FSU facilities in Panama City and Sarasota are now fully operational and will be open on Tuesday as scheduled.

Preparing for the storm

Florida State University students were asked to shelter in place Thursday night and Friday morning as Hurricane Hermine came ashore in Florida's Big Bend and past just east of Tallahassee.

There are several downed trees and power lines on campus, and power was lost to FSU buildings along with nearly 70 percent of electric customers in Leon County. The university reported that emergency generators were functioning. 

There were no reports of serious injuries on campus, but there were a few residents of Tallahassee who were hurt when high winds knocked trees onto several houses.

Tallahassee Fire-Rescue spokesman Mike Bellamy said that an unknown number of people were taken to area hospitals with injuries that weren't thought to be life-threatening. Bellamy said his agency responded to more than 300 calls overnight.

FSU had canceled classes at noon Thursday and remains closed Friday.

The University of Florida, the University of North Florida, Florida State College at Jacksonville, St. Johns River Community College, Jacksonville University, Edward Waters the College, Flagler College, the College of Coastal Georgia, Nova Southeastern, Keiser University and Jones Technical Institute have canceled all classes, athletic events and campus activities for Friday. 

College housing and dining services will remain operational for residential students on most of these campuses.