Tulane strengthens storm readiness as hurricane season approaches

As the 2026 hurricane season approaches, Tulane University continues to build on years of planning and investment aimed at making its campuses the most resilient in the country.

Tulane has steadily expanded its preparedness efforts for severe weather, from infrastructure upgrades to strengthened emergency protocols, designed to ensure the safety of its community and the continuity of its operations.

"Tulane has developed a deeply rooted culture of preparedness when it comes to hurricane season," said Patrick Norton, the university's senior vice president, chief operating officer and treasurer. "We plan well in advance, we invest in the right systems, and we expect every member of our community to take personal responsibility by having a clear evacuation plan in place."

For instances when no evacuation is ordered, Tulane has expanded its ability to safely support limited shelter-in-place scenarios for on-campus residential students by significantly increasing the number of facilities equipped with robust backup power systems.

Tulane now has 16 megawatts of additional backup power across its uptown and downtown campuses, allowing key buildings, including student residences, to remain operational during power outages caused by hurricanes or tropical storms.

In addition to full-building generators in all uptown residence halls, as well as in major academic, research and student-use facilities such as the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, the Reily Student Recreation Center and Avron B. Fogelman Arena at Devlin Fieldhouse, the university has recently expanded full-building backup power to the Tidewater Building, Hutchinson Memorial Building, the J. Bennett Johnston Health & Environmental Research Building and Deming Pavilion.

These advancements are part of a long-term partnership with ENFRA, an energy infrastructure firm that is currently working with Tulane on a 30-year plan to modernize campus systems while balancing sustainability and cost efficiency.

The university has also taken steps to protect critical data and systems. By relocating its primary data center to Ashburn, Virginia, Tulane has strengthened its ability to maintain access to essential digital infrastructure, even during major weather events affecting the entire Gulf South region.

Jeffrey Benjamin, vice president of facilities and campus development at Tulane, said university resilience is not a one-time achievement but an ongoing process.

"We've made tremendous progress in recent years, but our work is never finished," Benjamin said. "We're constantly evaluating where we can improve - whether that's adding redundancy to our power systems, reinforcing buildings or carrying out routine maintenance that reduces risk before a storm ever forms."

Across campuses, Tulane continues to expand and refine its resilience measures. Highlights include:

• Widespread backup power coverage on the uptown campus, with many buildings supported by either full-building generator systems or dedicated generators for critical operations.
• Dedicated generators supporting key student spaces, including the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life and Malkin Sacks Commons.
• A growing renewable energy footprint, including 1.3 megawatts of solar power installed on the uptown campus.
• A network of nine diesel generators supplying critical power to the Downtown Campus Center.
• Structural improvements to reduce storm impacts, including sealing building exteriors and windows at major research facilities to prevent water intrusion.
• Ongoing drainage improvements and maintenance in areas surrounding the downtown campus to reduce flooding risk during heavy storms.
• The Tulane National Biomedical Research Center in Covington has 23 generators that provide 100% backup energy in the event of a power failure. ENFRA provides additional redundancy for the Center's Regional Biocontainment Laboratory. Generators serve all animal buildings, critical operations buildings and all essential infrastructure, including the Center's artesian water well supply and wastewater treatment plant.

"Redundancy is critical," Benjamin said. "If one system fails, another has to be ready immediately. That's how we protect people, research and essential operations. At the same time, we stay focused on everyday preventive measures such as clearing drains, maintaining roofs and inspecting systems, because small actions make a big difference during heavy rainfall."