Students from Tulane University are not the only ones trying to put the devastation of a hurricane behind them. At colleges and universities across Florida, the damage suffered during Hurricane Wilma is still leaving scars.
During the second week of October, Hurricane Wilma, a Category 5 storm, wreaked havoc on Florida, forcing evacuations and causing an estimated $14.4 billion of damage, ranking it in the 10 costliest hurricanes in state history. Colleges across Florida were forced to shut down, and upon reopening, found themselves struggling to rebuild their communities and campuses.
“We are used to dealing with hurricanes in Florida,” said Zack Black, a freshman at the University of Miami and a native of the Florida Keys. “Wilma was especially disruptive because I was at school for the first time.”
Campuses including Miami, the University of South Florida, University of Tampa and the University of Central Florida were all forced to close for roughly two weeks before reopening to students. Unlike Tulane students who were forced to temporarily relocate after August’s Hurricane Katrina, students at Florida schools — some already housing displaced Tulane students — did not temporarily transfer to another college.
Ed Moore, executive director of Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, placed the collective cost of repairs to Florida schools at approximately $14 million.
“Most repair money will come from institutional funds, loans, donations, self-insurance programs and insurance carriers,” he said.
Even with recovery efforts resulting in only minor delays, Moore noted, the schools lost more than simply a few class days.
“[The schools] all reopened after no more than two weeks’ delay, but how long does it take to replace landscaping that had trees over 100 years old?” he said.
Clean-up operations, including debris removal, landscaping, marine pier repair and library recovery, will last about six months for most schools, Moore added.
Allen Fish, vice president of business services at the University of Miami, said the school had not received any relief aid from the federal or state government but is in the process of applying for roughly $1.7 million from the Federal Emergency Management Administration. All schools must apply directly to FEMA to cover debris removal and miscellaneous costs.
The university developed a comprehensive hurricane recovery plan following the devastation of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, but created a disaster plan review committee only this year to “look at issues associated with a Category 5 direct hit,” according to Fish.
As they live on the most typical path followed by tropical storms and hurricanes, Floridians are experienced veterans of the tumultuous storm season. But each season represents a new opportunity to improve the state’s response.
“Our schools have become very experienced at dealing with natural disasters,” Moore said. “They are well-prepared and respond as crisis assisters to their communities. We learn more with each storm.”
Meanwhile, students like Black will try and put Wilma behind them and move on with their lives — at least until next hurricane season.
“It’s always there to think about [for next year],” he said. “I can relax in knowing that there won’t be another hurricane for a while.”