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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. It also left 56,000 homeless. 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. 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 . The NHC best track documents that it scraped the Caribbean as a Category 4 hurricane, when it passed over Guadeloupe , the Leeward Islands , and St. Croix , and then weakened to a Category 3 prior to landfalling over Vieques , Culebra , and the eastern tip of mainland Puerto Rico , while undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle (ERC). Hugo continued to weaken 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 McClellanville, 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 Storm 7 of the 1898 Season . IMPACT Hugo caused $7 billion (1989 , 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 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 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) St. Croix There was massive looting and unrest, prompting President George H.W. Bush to send troops to St. Croix in Operation Hawkeye. 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.http://www.thecommonwealth.org/YearbookInternal/140416/140427/montserrat/ Commonwealth Secretariat - Montserrathttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/weather/hurricane/poststories/hugo-pr.htm WashingtonPost.com: WeatherPost - "Deadly Hugo Slams Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands" 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.http://www.sei.org/Bats.html Montserrat Bats 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.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/weather/hurricane/poststories/hugo-pr.htm WashingtonPost.com: WeatherPost - "Deadly Hugo Slams Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands" In all, 12 deaths in Puerto Rico are attributed to Hugo,http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene/hurricanehugo.htm Hurricane Hugo 1989 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.http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/weather/hurricane/poststories/hugo-pr.htm WashingtonPost.com: WeatherPost - "Deadly Hugo Slams Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands" 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 , 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. 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. According to Governor Carroll Campbell , there were about 3,000 Tornado es 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. 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. Damage to trees was reported across much of western North Carolina. 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 See Also: List of retired Atlantic hurricanes 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 . SEE ALSO
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