USF St. Pete to remain closed through Saturday due to Hurricane Helene
A final decision on whether the St. Pete campus will reopen on Sunday will be announced Saturday evening, according to the university. Classes will resume on all campuses on Monday.
The Tampa and Sarasota-Manatee campuses are set to reopen on Saturday. Residence halls there did not close due to Helene.
Related: USF closes all campuses due to Tropical Storm Helene – The Oracle
St. Pete dorms will remain closed, according to the university. Residents from the St. Pete campus who had to relocate to Tampa should expect to stay there until at least Saturday afternoon. Any updates will be communicated directly to St. Pete residents.
Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 around Florida’s Big Bend region, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The hurricane passed by Tampa Bay on its way, causing a record storm surge as it moved.
At St. Pete, a tidal gauge near the Albert Whitted Airport recorded a flooding peak at 6.3 feet above average high tide around 12:30 a.m. Friday.
The airport is located around 0.3 miles from the USF St. Pete campus.
This flooding broke a new record for the area, surpassing both Hurricane Elena in 1985 and Hurricane Idalia in 2022, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
No significant damages to USF Tampa dorms have been found but students can also submit maintenance request forms to report anything, according to an email sent to residents.
Dining at the campus has also resumed normal operations. The desk services and mail centers at Tampa will reopen on Saturday.
Most USF Health facilities have reopened as of Friday at noon, according to the university. The USF Health South Tampa Center for Advanced Healthcare and 17 Davis Medical Building locations will remain closed until Monday.
The Mote Marine Labs at Sarasota-Manatee will also remain closed. The university did not disclose an opening day for the lab.
The Oracle reached out to USF regarding information of damages at all campuses, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
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