Hurricane Hugo

Hurricane Hugo was a destructive Category 5 hurricane that struck Puerto Rico, St. Croix, South Carolina and North Carolina in September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season, killing at least 70 people. The storm caused $15.6 billion (2005 USD) in damages, making it at the time the most damaging hurricane ever recorded, surpassing Hurricane Agnes. It was surpassed three years later by Hurricane Andrew.

Storm history

A tropical wave moved off of Cape Verde, Africa, on September 9, 1989. Moving westward, it developed into Tropical Storm Hugo on September 11, and became a hurricane on the 13th. Hugo rapidly intensified and briefly reached Category 5 intensity while well out in the Atlantic. It scraped the Caribbean as a Category 4 hurricane, where it passed over Guadeloupe, the Leeward Islands, St. Croix, and the eastern tip of Puerto Rico.

Hugo weakened after leaving the warm waters of the Caribbean to a Category 2, but quickly restrengthened when it passed over the Gulf Stream. The storm made landfall in South Carolina on the evening of September 21 as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Hugo was originally forecast to move toward Savannah, Georgia, but instead turned north toward Charleston, South Carolina. The eye of the hurricane passed just northeast of Charleston.

The storm sped northward, with the center passing over Moncks Corner and close to Sumter. After landfall, Hugo weakened into a tropical storm while passing near Charlotte, North Carolina. The storm continued north as an extratropical low, finally tracking over the eastern Great Lakes and parts of eastern Canada.

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 the .

Impact

Hugo caused $7 billion (1989 USD) in damage in the mainland United Stateshttp://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastcost.shtml. At the time it was the costliest hurricane in U.S. history, but was exceeded in 1992 by Hurricane Andrew, and by six other storms since then. It remains the fifth 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 http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastdeadly.shtml NHC list of deadliest hurricanes. 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 killed six people in Puerto Rico and St. Croix and caused an estimated $3 billion (1989 US dollars) in damages in the Caribbean (including $1 billion in Puerto Rico and the USVI http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pastcost.shtml NHC list of costliest hurricanes).

The death toll on St. Croix is the subject of some debate, as several mass graves were dug in the aftermath. Most sources 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 refrigeration; however, as is common with such disasters, rumors persist that unaccounted-for victims of the storm were also buried in this manner.

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, and Isle of Palms. 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 felled. 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.

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.

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. http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/tropical/rain/hugo1989rain.gif

North Carolina

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.

North Carolina's coastline also suffered significant damage along its southward-facing beaches, including Brunswick County and the Outer Banks. 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). http://www.csc.noaa.gov/products/nchaz/htm/hugo.htm NHC North Carolina hazards: Hugo

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.

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 and Senator Fritz Hollings referred to them as "a bunch of bureaucratic 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. 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.

Trivia

When the storm hit St. Croix, it destroyed the only Olympic-sized 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. After his training pool was destroyed Duncan switched his focus to basketball and went on to be an NBA star.