Campus Alert Archive
USC

Carolina Alert Closes USC Columbia at 1 PM as Hurricane Florence Bears Down — But Spares the Coast a Direct Hit, Sending Inland Floods Instead

SChurricaneemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

On Tuesday, September 11, 2018, the University of South Carolina announced via Carolina Alert that classes would be cancelled at its Columbia campus beginning at 1:00 PM EDT as Hurricane Florence — at the time a Category 4 storm — approached the Carolinas. The Columbia campus was not included in Governor Henry McMaster's mandatory coastal evacuation order, so USC did not require students to leave. Essential student services — housing, food service, and the student health center — continued to operate. The university remained closed until further notice as Florence stalled over the Carolinas, producing inland flooding that reached Columbia and disrupted the post-storm return to operations through Sunday, September 16.

Alerts
3
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
University of South Carolina
Public R1 · SC
~35,000 studentsRave Mobile SafetyCarolina Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

3 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction295 chars
Carolina Alert: Classes at the Columbia campus will be cancelled beginning at 1 p.m. today, Tuesday, Sept. 11, due to Hurricane Florence. The campus is not under evacuation orders. Essential student services including housing, dining, and student health will remain open. Stay tuned for updates.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: USC's president released an announcement confirming class cancellations beginning at 1 PM EDT Tuesday September 11, but verbatim Carolina Alert text was not preserved in publicly available archives
USC's Columbia campus is inland from coastal South Carolina and was not in Governor Henry McMaster's mandatory coastal evacuation zone
USC's six regional campuses (USC Beaufort, USC Aiken, USC Salkehatchie, USC Sumter, USC Lancaster, USC Union, and USC Upstate) operated under their own local conditions
UPDATEmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction260 chars
Carolina Alert: USC Columbia remains closed. Saturday's football game against Marshall has been cancelled. Students living on campus should shelter in residence halls. Roads in the Columbia area are reserved for evacuation traffic from the coast. Avoid travel.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: USC Athletics officially cancelled the September 15 home football game against Marshall
Columbia is roughly two hours inland from the South Carolina coast — major evacuation routes (I-26, I-20) pass directly through Columbia, putting USC in the center of the evacuation flow
ALL CLEARmulti-channel
Approximate reconstruction267 chars
Carolina Alert: USC Columbia will resume normal operations Monday, Sept. 17. Classes will resume on regular schedule. The Student Assistance Program offers emergency support for students whose families were affected by Hurricane Florence. Thank you for your patience.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: USC's resumption of operations message was a standard return-to-normal communication
USC's Student Assistance Program (now called the Student Care Office) was mobilized to support students whose families were displaced by Florence's inland flooding
Context

Background

The University of South Carolina is a public R1 research university and the flagship of the University of South Carolina System, with approximately 35,000 students on a 444-acre Columbia campus. Hurricane Florence approached the Carolinas in mid-September 2018 and was at one point forecast to make landfall as a Category 4 hurricane. On Tuesday, September 11, 2018, Governor Henry McMaster ordered mandatory evacuations for South Carolina's coastal counties effective September 11 at noon. USC's Columbia campus was not in the evacuation zone, but the university announced via Carolina Alert that classes would be cancelled beginning at 1:00 PM EDT Tuesday. The university encouraged students, faculty, and staff to stay home and stay off the roads — major evacuation routes (I-26, I-20) run directly through Columbia, putting USC in the center of the coastal-evacuation flow. Essential student services — housing, food service, and the student health center — continued to operate for the thousands of students who lived on campus. The September 15 home football game against Marshall was cancelled. Hurricane Florence made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane near Wrightsville Beach, NC on September 14 but stalled over the Carolinas, producing record-breaking 36-inch rainfall totals in some locations. While Columbia did not see direct landfall impacts, inland flooding from Florence's rainfall affected post-storm operations and student travel into the following week. USC resumed normal operations Monday, September 17. The case is significant for documenting an inland state-flagship's distinctive response to a major hurricane — class cancellation without evacuation, framed as keeping students off roads to facilitate the coastal evacuation flowing through the campus city.
Analysis

Key Findings

USC Columbia cancelled classes at 1 PM EDT Tuesday September 11 without requiring evacuation — the campus was inland and not in Governor McMaster's mandatory evacuation zone
USC's stay-home messaging was framed as keeping students off the roads to facilitate the coastal evacuation flowing through Columbia on I-26 and I-20
Essential student services — housing, dining, and student health — remained open through the storm window
The September 15 football game against Marshall was cancelled
USC's Student Assistance Program was mobilized to support students whose families were displaced by Florence's inland flooding in the days that followed
Outcome
The University of South Carolina cancelled classes at its Columbia campus beginning at 1:00 PM EDT Tuesday, September 11. The campus was not under a mandatory evacuation order — USC encouraged students, faculty, and staff to stay home and stay off the roads as the coastal-region evacuation proceeded. Essential student services — housing, food, and student health — remained open. The September 15 football game against Marshall was cancelled. Hurricane Florence made landfall as Category 1 near Wrightsville Beach, NC, on September 14 but stalled, producing 36-inch rainfall totals across the Carolinas. USC resumed operations the following week.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    President's message to parents about Hurricane Florence (University of South Carolina)
    sc.edu
  2. News
    South Carolina to close campus as Hurricane Florence eyes coast (247Sports)
    247sports.com
  3. Official
    Gov. Henry McMaster Orders Mandatory Evacuations for Coastal Counties (SC Emergency Management Division)
    scemd.org
  4. News
    Hurricane Florence: Carolinas And Virginia Issue Evacuation Orders (NPR)
    npr.org
  5. Source
    Hurricane Florence (Wikipedia)
    en.wikipedia.org
  6. Official
    Carolina Alert (University of South Carolina Law Enforcement and Safety)
    sc.edu
Tags
hurricaneflorencesouth-carolinapublic-r1carolina-alertno-evacuationinland-campusathletic-event-cancellationweather
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion