Weather Updates—Milton

Update — Oct. 11, 4:45 PM

From the Office of the President

Dear SEU Community,

I am incredibly grateful for God’s protection of our SEU community and Lakeland campus as we weathered Hurricane Milton. Challenging times like these show us God’s hand on our lives and recenter us on what matters most; the safety of our loved ones. I am happy to report that all of the students and staff who remained on campus during the storm are safe and accounted for.

Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane just south of Tampa Bay and traveled inland across Central Florida through Southern Polk County. Other than a few downed trees and a temporary loss of power, there was no major structural damage done to our campus. We will return to normal operations and resume class schedules on Monday, October 14.

Although our Lakeland campus was spared from significant damage, several of our extension site campuses along Florida’s West Coast experienced the full effects of the storm. We are assessing the impact to our sites at Bayside Community Church, Grace City Church, Radiant Church, Crossover Church, Countryside Church, Grow Church, Next Level Church, Cape Christian, and South Bay Church. Please keep these churches in your prayers as they serve their communities in the days ahead. Our hearts break for the losses that so many are currently facing.

We want to know about any needs in our community. Our heart is to serve and help meet those needs in any way that we can.

I want to express my deep thanks and gratitude to the many individuals in our community who worked before and during the storm to prepare our campus and who put the needs of our students first.

I would like to recognize our Facilities team, which made preparations to mitigate damages and is currently working to clean up our campus. I also want to thank our Student Development team, who worked alongside our Safety and Security team to plan for the safety of the students who remained on campus. Finally, I want to thank the Chartwells team for providing essential food preparations during the storm. We are blessed with an incredible community here at SEU and I am so thankful for their support during this time.

We are grateful for the prayers and support we have received from all over the country. Please continue to pray with us in the days to come as the state of Florida continues to recover from Hurricane Milton.

It is my prayer that God will continue to keep His hand on our communities.

— Dr. Kent Ingle, President

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Update — Oct. 10, 9:15 AM

As of this morning, Hurricane Milton has passed, and we are pleased to report that everyone who stayed on campus is safe and accounted for. While we did lose power, the campus remains in good shape overall. Some trees and branches are down, and first responders are still assessing the roadways and areas around campus, but there appears to be no significant damage to our campus. We are grateful for God’s protection of our community.

We will begin the cleanup process today. We will conduct a full campus assessment to ensure it is safe and ready for students and staff to return. Updates regarding campus operations will be provided soon. But at this time, we believe that we will be able to resume normal operations on Monday. Thank you for your patience and cooperation throughout the storm.

Please continue to monitor the SEU website, your SEU email, and the SEU Alert system for additional information.

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Update — Oct. 8, 10:30 AM

The Southeastern Emergency Response Team (SERT) continues to monitor Hurricane Milton as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico toward western Florida.

Preparations have been made to ensure the safety of our students, staff, and faculty. All students remaining on campus must check in at the ride-out location when instructed by Campus Life staff. We anticipate activating the ride-out location between 10:00 AM and noon on Wednesday, October 9, depending on weather conditions. Students are required to remain at the ride-out location until the all-clear is given.

While conditions may still change, we currently expect to experience tropical storm-force winds by Wednesday evening. The hurricane is projected to make landfall just south of Tampa Bay early Thursday morning and move eastward over central Florida and Polk County.

Please continue to monitor the SEU website, your SEU email, and the SEU emergency broadcast system for the latest storm updates.

Update — Oct. 7, 11:00 AM

The Southeastern Emergency Response Team (SERT) continues to monitor Hurricane Milton as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico. Currently, Hurricane Milton is classified as a Category 3 storm at this time. Based on its current trajectory, the hurricane is expected to make landfall just south of Tampa Bay and move east across central Florida.

The University is taking every precaution to ensure the safety of Southeastern students, faculty, and staff. A secure ride-out location will be available for all students who plan to remain on campus. Any students who plan to stay in the ride-out location must complete THIS FORM by noon today. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office will have deputies on duty around the clock starting Wednesday, October 9, and will ensure that communication remains unbroken during the storm.

Classes, campus activities, and office spaces will open on Monday, October 14. Additional updates will be provided if there are any changes to this plan.

Update — Oct. 6, 5:00 PM

The Southeastern Emergency Response Team (SERT) continues to monitor Hurricane Milton as it develops and intensifies, charting a path toward western Florida. While it is still too early to estimate the full impact of the hurricane, the University is taking precautionary measures to ensure the safety of Southeastern students, faculty, and staff. As such, all classes and student events will be canceled for the entire week to allow students enough time to travel or otherwise enact their emergency plans.

Additionally, university offices will remain open on Monday, October 7, to allow SEU staff and faculty to make final preparations for the storm. After Monday, offices will be closed for the remainder of the week.

As a precaution, we encourage students to make plans for a safe place to stay during the storm. For those unable to leave campus, a ride-out location will be available here at the university. Residence halls will close on Tuesday evening and will reopen once we receive the “all-clear” from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Additional information will be sent to all residential students from Campus Life following this email, including a link to a form where students can notify the university of their plans to either stay on campus in the ride-out location or leave campus.

Students staying on campus will be required to move into the ride-out location when instructed to do so. Students will only be permitted to leave the ride-out location once the Southeastern Emergency Response Team (SERT) has deemed the campus safe. Those who evacuated campus will also be allowed to return once the campus all-clear has been given.

Emergency notifications regarding hazardous weather conditions will be sent out via the SEU Alert system.

SEU will continue to monitor the hurricane and will share more information about campus closures and openings as it becomes available. Regular updates will be posted on SEU’s website and official social media accounts.