Less than a week after opening its door for fall classes, Sam Houston State University announced it will until Tuesday, Sept. 5, due to Hurricane Harvey. 

The school — located in Huntsville, Texas, 70 miles north of Houston — made the call Monday to shutter operations on all campuses, including their online classes, though their main campus still has power and has sustained little Hurricane Harvey damage.

The school continues to offer residential services on campus.

“The decision [to close] was strictly made out of consideration for our students, faculty and staff who have been impacted by the storm, and who may have other obligations with their families and homes,” Julia May, SHSU’s Public Information Officer, said Tuesday. “A lot of the roads are closed around here, which would make it difficult for anyone in the outlying areas to get to campus. It just makes sense.”

In the meantime, the university is providing dining and recreational services to the 2,500 students currently living on campus. May said the school is also providing health and counseling services on a limited basis. 

SHSU student Linda Galicia, 21, is originally from Houston and says she’s heartbroken to see the destruction in her hometown. She’s been unable to get to her family members and friends, some of whom have lost their homes, due to road closures.

Galicia lives in student apartments off-campus and says students have to make do with resources open on limited hours, but she’s thankful SHSU made the decision to close.

“We feel helpless staying in our apartment and not being able to help those who need help in our hometown and surrounding areas,” Galicia said. “SHSU being closed is affecting our studies, but we are thankful that they closed campus for student and faculty safety.”

Ryan Reynolds, editor-in-chief for SHSU’s student newspaper The Houstonian, reports the campus’s intramural fields have flooded after the Harvey deluge. 

“They’ve been working on installing a new drainage system for over a year now, but I don’t think that had any match for Harvey,” Reynolds said.

Several SHSU student groups are volunteering at the Walker County Storm Shelter and Huntsville High School, Reynolds said.

May said SHSU administrators are continually monitoring Harvey as it continues to inundate the state with rain, but the school expects to be fully operational next week. The school has activated its emergency alert system, KatSafe, and plans to work with those unable to make it to campus once it reopens. 

“We are very much aware that many of our faculty, staff and students may not have power and may not be receiving all of our messages,” May said. “We will be working with everyone who has extenuating circumstances to the best of our ability.”