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Hurricane Hugo

Hurricane Hugo was a destructive Category 5 hurricane that struck Guadeloupe, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Croix, South Carolina and North Carolina in September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season, killing 82 people and leaving 56,000 homeless.

Hugo developed from a tropical wave that moved off the coast of Africa on September 9th. The storm tracked westward, and became a tropical storm on the 11th, and a hurricane on the 13th. It reached its peak intensity as a Category 5 hurricane, and moved toward the United States. Hugo made landfall in South Carolina as a Category 4.

The storm caused $10 billion (1989 USD, $16.3 billion (2006 USD) in damages, making it the most damaging hurricane ever recorded up to that time, surpassing Hurricane Frederic. Hugo was itself surpassed by Hurricane Andrew three years later, which was eventually surpassed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Meteorological history

Hugo's origins were from a cluster of thunderstorms that moved off the coast of Africa on September 9th. On a westward track, Hugo steadily intensified, becoming a tropical storm on the 11th, and a Hurricane on the 13th. Hugo reached its peak intensity while several hundred miles to the east of Puerto Rico.

Hugo began to execute a more north-northwest track, still intensifying as it did so. On the 17th, Hugo's eye was over Guadeloupe. Shortly thereafter, Hugo accelerated to the north-nothwest, and by the 19th, Hugo was located to the north of Puerto Rico. On the 21st, Hugo was located a couple hundred miles east of Florida, when it began a more northward track, in response to a steering flow that was associated with a low pressure system that was moving across the United States.

Hugo moved toward the northwest, and made landfall on the Isle of Palms, South Carolina, as a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale on September 22nd. The storm continued inland, and weakend to a tropical storm later that day. The storm continued weakening as it moved inland, and on September 23rd, the storm was making its transition into a remnant low.

Preparations

Savannah was evacuated in anticipation of Hugo, but saw no effects of the storm other than isolated and light showers. Had Hugo hit Savannah, it would have been the first major hurricane to make landfall in Georgia since Storm 7 of the 1898 season. Governor Carroll Campbell of South Carolina ordered an evacuation of the South Carolina coast in advance of the storm.

Impact

Storm deaths by region
(estimates)
Region	Deaths
United States	35
Puerto Rico	12
Guadeloupe	11
Montserrat	22
Virgin Islands	6
Antigua and Barbuda	10
Saint Kitts and Nevis	11
Total	107

Hugo caused $7 billion (1989 USD) in damage in the mainland United States. At the time it was the costliest hurricane in U.S. history, but was exceeded in 1992 by Hurricane Andrew, and by three other storms since then. It remains the sixth costliest hurricane in U.S. history. An additional $3 billion of damages was reported throughout the Caribbean. Therefore, total damages from the storm were $10 billion (1989 USD).

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 in the United States.

Caribbean

Severe damage was reported throughout the islands of the Caribbean. The storm caused an estimated $5 billion (1989 US dollars) in damages in the Caribbean (including $1 billion in Puerto Rico and the USVI.)

St. Croix

There was massive looting and unrest, prompting President George H.W. Bush to send troops to St. Croix in Operation Hawkeye. It also resulted in the first operational deployment of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), when the New Mexico-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT)was deployed to assist in medical care needs of the stricken island.

Montserrat

90% of all structures were destroyed in the British overseas territory, including the island's hospital and virtually all the homes of its 12,000 residents. Tourism and agriculture were also severely hit. Total damage was estimated at $100-300 million dollars (1989 USD); the island became reliant on aid as a result.

Additionally, the local bat population was devastated, with an estimated 90% decrease in numbers following Hugo's passage. The species Chiroderma improvisum has not been seen on Montserrat since, and it is feared that it may be extinct on the island.

Puerto Rico

Damage in Puerto Rico was severe, especially in the eastern part of the island. The agricultural sector was devastated, with the banana and coffee crops being almost completely wiped out. Heavy rains caused severe flooding in the vicinity of San Juan; in addition, several roads and bridges were washed away.

In all, 12 deaths in Puerto Rico are attributed to Hugo, six of which occurred in the southern city of Guayama where some residents were electrocuted by downed power lines. Nearly 28,000 people were left homeless by the storm.

United States

South Carolina

While downtown Charleston, South Carolina suffered extensive damage, the greatest damage was reported in the northern suburbs of Mount Pleasant, Sullivan's Island, Isle of Palms, and Goose Creek. Both islands were cut off from the mainland by destruction of their bridges. Along the coast, Hugo destroyed many houses and the storm surge piled boats on top of each other.

The storm's most intense wind and storm surge came ashore still further north between the small towns of Awendaw and McClellanville. An extraordinary 20-foot storm surge was reported between Cape Romain and Bulls Bay. Most mature trees in the Francis Marion National Forest were uprooted. Many of the stands were old growth longleaf pine, an important habitat for some endangered species. 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 Myrtle Beach & Surfside Beach/Garden City/Murrells Inlet areas also took quite a hit from the storm, not so much from wind, but mainly with storm surge. The surge plus the fact that Hugo hit the area at high tide, created a 12 to 14 foot surge. Many beach-front homes built in these areas were destroyed, leaving numerous ones laying across the middle of Ocean Blvd throughout Surfside Beach & Garden City. Telephone poles were standing in a 45 degree angle, and the boulevard was covered in approximately 4 feet of sand. Many homes just blocks from the beach were untouched.

According to Governor Carroll Campbell, 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. The term "tornado" was a misnomer; the intense localized winds are more properly referred to as vortices. (See Hurricane Andrew for more information on hurricane vortices.)

Campbell also stated that enough timber was lost within South Carolina to build a home for every family in West Virginia. An immense salvage effort was undertaken to harvest downed pine trees for pulpwood before they deteriorated to the point where they could not be used. Still standing timber that appeared usable for lumber and plywood frequently had annular separations of the rings that made them dangerous to saw and nearly impossible to cut into plies, so they were also downgraded into pulpwood, leading to such a drop in pulpwood prices that eventually much of the salvage effort ceased.

Inland, the storm destroyed homes, timber, and the area's cotton crop. Rainfall totals associated with Hugo were slightly below the average for a direct United States strike, likely due to the storm's rapid forward motion. The maximum amount measured was 10.28" at Edisto Island, South Carolina.

North Carolina

North Carolina's coastline suffered significant damage along its southward-facing beaches, including Brunswick County and the Outer Banks.

By the time it reached Charlotte, North Carolina, Hugo was still a Category 1 hurricane and was still strong enough to topple many trees across roads and houses leaving many without power, closing schools for as long as two weeks, and spawning several tornadoes. The storm took Charlotte by surprise; the city is 200 miles (320 km) inland and is frequently a stopover for people fleeing from the coast. Damage to trees was reported across much of western North Carolina.

In all, twenty-nine counties in North Carolina were declared federal disaster areas, with damages in that state alone estimated at $1 billion (1989 US dollars).

Mid-Atlantic

The last death caused by the storm was in East Aurora, New York near Buffalo when the winds toppled a tree onto a motorist.

Aftermath

Red Cross response

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

St. Croix

On the island of St. Croix, looting and lawlessness reigned in the aftermath of Hugo. Phone lines, power lines, 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 United States President George H. W. Bush for federal assistance in restoring order to the island. On September 20, 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 brought in food, water, mobile hospital units, and other supplies while offering free evacuation flights for anyone wanting to leave for the mainland. Sections of Christiansted, the island's eastern city, are still in rubble as of 2007.

Economic impact

After the storm, Governor Carroll Campbell said that the storm destroyed enough timber in South Carolina to frame a home for every family in the state of West Virginia.

FEMA criticism

In South Carolina, which bore the brunt of the storm, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was slow in responding. Senator Fritz Hollings referred to them as "a bunch of bureaucratic jackasses" during a speech on the floor of the United States Senate. 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. However, FEMA was criticized severely in 2005 for its similarly insufficient response to Hurricane Katrina, while private relief agencies and corporations such as Wal-Mart were praised for their prompt and comprehensive response to the disaster. FEMA's relevancy was questioned in Katrina's aftermath.

Retirement

Due to the extensive damage, the name Hugo was retired following this storm, and will never again be used for an Atlantic hurricane. It was replaced with Humberto in the 1995 season.