Hurricane Hugo

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Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo off the coast of South Carolina

Hurricane Hugo off the coast of South Carolina
Duration Sept. 9 - 25, 1989
Highest winds 160 mph (260 km/h) sustained
Damages $15-16 billion (2005 dollars)
Fatalities 70 - 100 direct
Areas affected Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Dominica, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, North Carolina, most of the eastern United States and Canada
Part of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season
Storm path
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Storm path

Hurricane Hugo was first detected as a group of thunderstorms near Cape Verde, Africa, on September 9, 1989. Moving westward, it was declared a tropical storm on September 11, and declared a hurricane on the 13th. When it reached the Caribbean, it struck and caused much devastation in places such as Guadeloupe, the Leeward Islands, St. Croix, and Puerto Rico, where six people died on September 18th.

Hugo made landfall in North America on the evening of September 21st as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale just northeast of Charleston, South Carolina, heading toward Charlotte, North Carolina. It had originally been moving towards Savannah, Georgia, which was evacuated, but moved towards Charleston. Had it hit Savannah, it would have been the first major hurricane to hit the east coast between Palm Beach, Florida and the Savannah River since 1899; instead, this would last fifteen more years, until Hurricane Jeanne hit north of Palm Beach in 2004.

While downtown Charleston suffered extensive damage, the brunt of the storm was borne by the northern suburbs of Mt Pleasant, Sullivan's Island, and Isle of Palms. Both islands were disconnected from the mainland by destruction of their bridges. Along the coast it destroyed many houses and the storm surge piled boats on top of each other.

While the eye passed over Charleston, the storm's most intense region, known as the dangerous semi-circle, came ashore still further north between the small towns of Awendaw and McClellanville in the Francis Marion National Forest, breaking off most mature trees. In McClellanville, a small fishing town, residents took refuge in Lincoln High School, and were surprised by the sudden tidal surge which flooded the school. With water pouring into the rooms, the refugees helped one another in pitch darkness to climb into the space in the hanging ceiling above the rooms. All survived.

The storm moved rapidly, with the center passing over Moncks Corner and close to Sumter, destroying homes, timber, and the area cotton crop.

By the time it reached Charlotte, it was still strong enough to topple many trees across roads and houses and leave many without power for as long as two weeks. The last death caused by the storm was in East Aurora, New York near Buffalo when the winds toppled a tree onto a motorist.

Rainfall totals associated with Hugo were slightly below the average for a direct United States strike, likely due to its rapid forward motion. The maximum amount measured was 10.28" at Edisto Island, South Carolina. The storm total rainfall graphic is located here:[1].

After the storm, South Carolina Governor Carroll Campbell said that the storm destroyed enough timber to frame a home for every family in the state of West Virginia. He also noted that there were about 3,000 tornadoes embedded within the hurricane, which accounts for extensive damage in some areas not within the path of the eyewall.

Hugo caused $7 billion ($9.4 billion in 2000 dollars) in damage in the US (plus $3 billion in the Caribbean). At the time it was the costliest hurricane in US history, but was exceeded in 1992 by Hurricane Andrew in south Florida. In South Carolina, which bore the brunt of the storm on the continent, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was slow in responding and Senator Fritz Hollings referred to them as "a bunch of bureacratic jackasses." An investigation was launched, which led to some reforms in FEMA procedures that helped the agency do a somewhat better job during Andrew, the next catastrophic hurricane to strike the United States. Hurricane Hugo is the 4th costliest Atlantic hurricane.


Top five costliest Atlantic hurricanes, 1851-2004

The cost of a hurricane refers to total estimated property damage.

North Atlantic
Rank Hurricane Year Cost (2004 USD, from [2])
1 Andrew 1992 $43.672 billion
2 Fifi 1974 $20 billion (2005 USD)
3 Charley 2004 $15 billion
4 Ivan 2004 $14.2 billion
5 Hugo 1989 $12.25 billion

Sources differ on the number of people killed by Hugo, with some citing the American Meteorological Society's figure of 49, and others claiming 56 deaths. Some government agency sources claim only 32 deaths. The death toll on St. Croix is also debatable as several mass graves were dug in the aftermath. Most people agree that these were dug for people who were already dead when the storm hit, and who could no longer be kept in morgues and funeral homes due to the lack of refridgeration, however rumors persist that unaccounted for victims of the storm were also burried in this manner.

Extensive relief aid was provided by The Salvation Army, the Red Cross and various churches.

The name Hugo was retired following this storm, and was replaced with Humberto in the 1995 season.


Operation Hawkeye

On the island of St. Croix, looting and lawlessness reigned in the aftermath of Hugo. Phone, electricity, hospitals, banks, the airport and 90% of all structures were severely damaged or destroyed. Three days after the storm hit, the Governor of the Virgin Islands asked President George Bush for federal assistance in restoring order to the island. On September 20th, members of the XVIII Airborne "Contingency Corps" were dispatched to the island as part of Operation Hawkeye. Military police patrolled the island for two months imposing a dusk to dawn curfew. Cargo planes used to bring in food, water, mobile hospital units and other supplies offered free evacuation flights for anyone wanting to leave for the mainland.

The social unrest and looting which took place on St. Croix was not typical of the reaction of Hurricane victims and would not be seen again until Hurricane Jeanne hit Haiti in September 2004 and Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in September 2005.

Trivia

Hugo had a small but significant effect on basketball history. When the storm hit St. Croix, it destroyed the only Olympic-size pool in the Virgin Islands. This pool was the training site of Tim Duncan, a 13-year-old swimmer who was one of the top age-group swimmers in the United States, not just the Virgin Islands. However, when his training pool was destroyed, he switched his focus to basketball. Duncan eventually became an All-American at Wake Forest University and a two-time NBA MVP with the San Antonio Spurs, and has three NBA championship rings with the Spurs.

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