VT Steering Team 200702

1
Do Disasters Happen to Universities?
University of Texas Health Sciences Center at
Houston (UTHSCH) In June 2001, Tropical Storm
Allison inundated the Houston Area and its
universities and colleges with 10 to 24 inches of
rain. The total losses are estimated to be 745
million. UTHSCH had 22 ft. of water in it,
causing the hospital to close for the first time
in its history and seriously disrupting its
research efforts. Damage to the Medical School
has been estimated at more than 205M. Seton
Hall University On January 19, 2000, a fire
raced through an old residence hall at Seton Hall
University in the middle of the night. Students
leapt from windows, crawled out stairways and a
number were rescued by firefighters. The fire
killed three students, and seriously injured 12
more. The residence hall did not have a sprinkler
system. The University of North Dakota In
April 1997, the Red River inundated the
University of North Dakota. The University was
forced to relocate critical functions such as the
computer center and had to suspend many of its
operations. After a month of inspection, clean-up
and repairs, the university reopened. Damages
totaled 46 million.
2
Do Disasters Happen to Universities?
University of Miami Hurricane Andrew caused
17 million in damage to the University of Miami
in 1992. The school was forced to close for
almost one month because there was no water or
electricity, and it had to purchase round-trip
tickets to send students home during the hiatus.
Insurance premiums went up dramatically after the
disaster. University of Maryland On September
24, 2001, a tornado extensively damaged several
facilities at the University of Maryland.
Instructional and student services space was
damaged along with several trailers that were a
temporary home to the Maryland Fire Institute.
Two students were killed when their car was
overturned and classes were canceled for one
day. University of California Santa Cruz On
January 11, 2002, a three-alarm fire broke out in
the Sinsheimer Laboratories building on the
campus of the University of California Santa
Cruz. The fire completely destroyed several labs,
including the research lab of Professor Manny
Ares, who lost more than a decade of work on the
Human Genome Project. Damage from the fire has
been estimated at 4-5 million. The building was
constructed in 1987, before fire codes required a
sprinkler system.
3
Do Disasters Happen to Universities?
Columbia University In July 1999, a heat wave
resulted in a sustained power outage in New York
City. The electricity went out at Columbia
University and was not completely restored for 2
to 3 days. In the intervening time, researchers
at Columbias College of Physicians and Surgeons
lost irreplaceable research materials human
tissue, enzymes and cells because there were
not sufficient back-up generators to keep
freezers or incubators running. Damages to the
200 million research program were calculated at
many millions of dollars. East Carolina
University In September 1999, Hurricane Floyd
pounded North Carolina, causing serious flooding
at East Carolina University in Greenville. The
campus was surrounded by water for weeks. The
university was only partially operational, and
some students were forced to lodge with residents
in the town. Texas AM University In September
2005, hurricane Rita caused major evacuation from
the Galveston and Houston areas. Texas AM
University was asked to convert the large animal
hospital at the College of Veterinary Medicine
and Biomedical Sciences into a facility to care
for several hundred special needs patients.
This facility ended up housing over 650 patients,
family and care-givers and had become the largest
human hospital in central Texas.