Updated Oct. 29 at 5:57 p.m.
Power has been restored to Elon University's campus, according to an email from Jon Dooley, vice president for student life. The power was out for nearly seven hours.
Meredith Archie, a representative from Duke Energy, said the power outage was from "high winds due to [Tropical Storm] Zeta."
Updated Oct. 29 at 4:54 p.m.
In an email statement, representative from Duke Energy Meredith Archie told Elon News Network at 4:42 p.m. that power should be restored on Elon’s campus by 5:30 p.m.
This contradicts Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley's 4:43 p.m. email that said "there is no firm estimate for restoring power at this time."
Updated Oct. 29 at 2:10 p.m.
According to university spokesman Owen Covington, students will not be able to swipe into their dorms or apartments in the Historic and Oaks neighborhoods if there is no power.
In an email statement to Elon News Network, Covington said students should call Elon Campus Safety and Police if they are not able to access entry to their buildings. Campus police can “perform an override and let students into those residential facilities.”
“Officers are being sent to those neighborhoods (and may already be there) to assist any student who is unable to access their residence hall,” Covington wrote.
Updated Oct. 29 at 1:58 p.m.
COVID-19 testing continues while the power is out
Students stand in line for COVID-19 testing while the power is out in Alumni Gym and other areas of campus as high winds whip through the county on Oct. 29, 2020.
Despite the campus wide power outage at Elon University's coronavirus testing is still up and running in Alumni Gym.
According to Brett Simon, assistant director of campus recreation and wellness for sport programs, COVID-19 testing will continue as planned for the remainder of the day, despite Alumni Gym currently being without power. Simon is working as a greeter for COVID testing.
Updated Oct. 29 at 1:55 p.m.
Updated Oct. 29 at 1:50 p.m.
Duke Energy crews are still assessing the outages and damages in the area according to Meredith Archie, a representative from Duke Energy.
Archie also said crews will need to wait until winds are below 39 mph to start restorations.
Alamance County is in a high wind warning until 7 p.m., according to the NWS. A wind warning is defined as “sustained winds 40 mph or greater, for better than 1 hour - and/or wind gusts 58 mph or greater, for any duration.”
Updated Oct. 29 at 1:08 p.m.
According to Assistant Vice President of Physical Plant Tom Flood the university is high on Duke Energy’s priority list.
"We are hopeful we will have some power up by dinner,” Flood said.
Updated Oct. 29 at 12:54 p.m.
Updated Oct. 29 at 12:51 p.m.
There are currently 104 active outages in Alamance County and 4,167 customers without power.
Updated Oct. 29 at 12:45 p.m.
According to Elon University spokesman Owen Covington he "cannot provide a detailed list" of on-campus locations that do not have power and or Wi-Fi. In general, Covington said areas near "east of O’Kelly Avenue continue to have power while the outage is concentrated in areas west of O’Kelly Avenue."
Updated Oct. 29 at 12:30 p.m.
Updated Oct. 29 at 12:24 p.m.
Freshman Syd Danziger said she was in class when the power went out. This caused her to go outside where she watched the tree next to the Alamance Building fall.
"I heard this cracking noise like something was like splitting apart," Danziger said. "The tree just came down. There was someone standing a couple of feet away from it and we were all scared that person was going to get hit, by some miracle it didn't happen."
Updated Oct. 29 at 12:05 p.m.
Several on-campus buildings have lost power including residence halls in Historic Neighborhood and Oaks Neighborhood. This comes after the National Weather Service issued a high wind warning in the area. These are remnants of tropical storm Zeta.
According to the NWS website under a high wind warning "sustained, strong winds are possible. Secure loose outdoor items and adjust plans as necessary so you're not caught outside."
A representative from Elon University police believes the power outages are campuswide. 69 active outages have been reported across Alamance County according to Duke Energy.
Duke Energy representative Madison McDonald said the company is currently assessing the damage to determine the best plan of action.
According to an email from Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley, "the estimate for a return to power is currently 1-4 hours."
Dooley also said in his email that all in-person and online classes will be canceled beginning at 12 p.m. today.
There is also a tree down next to Alamance Building.