Interview with Charleston Mayor Joe Riley

Summary

Hurricane Hugo was a Cape Verde hurricane that became a Category 5 (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) storm in the Atlantic, then raked the northeast Caribbean as a Category 4 storm before turning northwest between an upper-level high pressure system to the north and upper-level low pressure system to the south. Hugo made landfall just north of Charleston, South Carolina at Sullivan's Island around midnight September 22, 1989 as a Category 4 storm with estimated maximum sustained winds of 135-140 mph and a minimum central pressure of 934 mb (27.58 inches of Hg). Hugo produced tremendous wind and storm surge damage along the coast and even produced hurricane force wind gusts all the way into western North Carolina. In fact, Hugo produced the highest storm tide heights ever recorded along the U.S. East Coast.

Hurricane Hugo's Track	Upper-level Air Patterns
(credit: NOAA's National Hurricane Center)	(credit: Jon Nese at Penn State University)

At the time, Hurricane Hugo was the strongest storm to strike the United States in the previous 20-year period. The hurricane was also the nation's costliest in terms of monetary losses with damage estimates standing at $7 billion. It is estimated that there were 49 deaths directly related to the storm, 26 of which occurred in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Impacts

Most buildings in downtown Charleston sustained significant damage, but the worst destruction occurred in beach towns north of Charleston such as Sullivan's Island and the Isle of Palms where the majority of homes were rendered uninhabitable due to the fact that this area received the strongest winds and highest storm surge. Many old trees were toppled by Hugo's winds, including those at Drayton Hall in West Ashley (image 1 / image 2 - images courtesy of Drayton Hall). Logging operations in the Francis Marion National Forest were permanently ended due to the storm felling more than 1 billion board-feet of lumber (approximately 70% of lumber-quality trees). As you can see from this image, most of the tree damage occurred along and to the right of Hugo's track.

Fortunately, Hugo made landfall just north of Charleston as a track slightly farther south along the coast would have produced tremendous flooding in downtown Charleston. This can clearly be seen in the images below (credit: NOAA's Coastal Services Center). In addition, the relatively fast motion of Hugo diminished the amount of erosion along the coast.

Furthermore, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division estimates that if a storm with a similar track and intensity struck today, there would be $8 billion in damage in the state alone with over 21,000 homes destroyed. Combine such a storm with the evacuation problems that occurred during Hurricane Floyd in 1999, and the setup will be prime for a major disaster!

Pictures

Damage at Folly Beach, SC from Hugo. (image courtesy of McKevlins Surf Shop)

Damage at Isle of Palms, SC from Hugo. (image courtesy of "The State" newspaper)

Damage to Lincoln High School in McClellanville, SC. The storm surge entered the building which unfortunately was being used as a shelter during the storm.

Damage to the Ben Sawyer Bridge heading to/from Sullivan's Island, SC. (image courtesy of NOAA)

Meteorological Stats

Meteorological/Technological Advancements Since 1989

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