With another storm system brewing in the Atlantic acting as a reminder that the hurricane season is not quite over, Eagle News decided to look back at the history of the relationship between FGCU and hurricanes with the help of the FGCU archives.
From advancements in technology to improvements in campus facilities, FGCU has come a long way in hurricane preparedness over the years.
Recently, during Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Helene, FGCU students seeking shelter during a storm are sent to Alico Arena. However, the arena didn’t exist until 2004, so before then, FGCU sent students who needed shelter to the commons building in North Lake Village. The building has since been converted to office space for FGCU faculty.
In only FGCU’s seventh year of classes, Southwest Florida saw one of its worst hurricane seasons on record in 2004. Hurricanes Charley, Francis, Ivan and Jeanne battered Florida over the span of only six weeks.
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Hurricane Charley was one of the most devastating hurricanes ever to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast. It rapidly strengthened as it approached landfall and caught many off guard, a story retold 19 years later with Hurricane Ian.
The storm caused $15 billion in damage in the United States, according to NOAA, with most of that concentrated in Southwest Florida, specifically in Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte.
Records show that even though FGCU saw very minimal physical damage to its campus, the storms were devastating to the student population. Hurricane Charley made landfall on Aug. 13, 2004, right as classes were about to begin for the 2004 school year.
First Year Orientation sessions were rescheduled for students and move-in was delayed by a half day. Registration and add/drop were extended by one week to accommodate students who could not make it to campus and those without internet access.
Faculty were advised to make copies of important computer files onto zip drives and floppy disks to bring home. After the immediate response, FGCU offered temporary housing services for those displaced, began fundraising for those affected, offered counseling through CAPS, led community service events and provided a help line called “Charley’s Angels,” which offered over-the-phone counseling and assistance for those affected.
Hurricane Charley cost FGCU approximately $220,000.
This impact paled in comparison to the effects of Hurricane Ian 18 years later. Ian was an immensely devastating hurricane, becoming the costliest hurricane in Florida’s history and the third most costly weather disaster worldwide.
While FGCU’s main campus remained unharmed besides a few toppled trees, broken windows and a respelling of Alico Arena to “Alico Aren” due to a windswept “a.” FGCU’s satellite properties, particularly the Vester Field Station in Bonita Springs, were crippled by the storm. It took almost two years for the facility to reopen after it sustained a storm surge of over 10 feet from Hurricane Ian.
FGCU students living on campus were ushered into Alico Arena while Ian bore down on the region. Students were forced to wait two weeks to return to classes, resulting in 10 instructional days lost, according to records. The university spent $3.2 million in response to Hurricane Ian.
While FGCU and Southwest Florida as a whole were spared from hurricane season this year, FGCU has proven itself well prepared through the toughest storms nature has thrown at it.