page_title: Hurricane Hugo
section_title: South Carolina
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Hugo / Impact / United States / South Carolina
caption_attribution_description: Damage to beach front property after Hurricane Hugo
context_page_description: Hurricane Hugo was a powerful Cape Verde tropical cyclone that inflicted widespread damage across the northeastern Caribbean and the Southeastern United States in September 1989. Across its track
  , Hugo affected approximately 2 million people. Its direct effects killed 67 people and inflicted $11 billion in damage. The damage wrought by the storm was more costly than any Atlantic hurricane preceding it. At its peak strength east of the Lesser Antilles, Hugo was classified as a Category 5 hurricane—the highest rating on the Saffir–Simpson scale. Over the course of five days, Hugo made landfalls on Guadeloupe, Saint Croix, Puerto Rico, and South Carolina, bringing major hurricane conditions to these and surrounding areas. Lesser effects were felt along the periphery of the hurricane's path in the Lesser Antilles and across the Eastern United States into Eastern Canada. The scale of Hugo's impacts led to the retirement of the name Hugo from Atlantic hurricane names.
  Hugo arose from a cluster of thunderstorms near Cape Verde on September 10, 1989. This cluster coalesced into a tropical depression and strengthened into a tropical storm—named Hugo—as it tracked west for several days.
context_section_description: The eye of Hugo moved ashore South Carolina at Sullivan's Island at 04:00 UTC on September 22 (12:00 a.m. EDT). The storm's maximum sustained winds were estimated by the NHC to have reached 140 mph (220 km/h) during landfall, making Hugo a Category 4 hurricane. This estimate was derived from an aircraft reconnaissance flight into the storm shortly before landfall; no weather stations were positioned along Bulls Bay, where Hugo's strongest winds likely occurred.  This intensity made Hugo the strongest hurricane to strike the United States in 20 years. The ship Snow Goose, anchored in the Sampit River 5 mi (8.0 km) west of Georgetown, clocked a 120-mile-per-hour (193 km/h) sustained wind using an anemometer mounted on the ship's mast. In downtown Charleston, a sustained wind of 87 mph (141 km/h) and a gust of 108 mph (174 km/h) were reported. Hugo produced an 8-foot (2.4 m) storm surge at Charleston, indicating that water levels rose 12.9 ft (3.9 m) above mean lower low water as Hugo made landfall. Elsewhere along the South Carolina coast, Hugo produced storm tides as high as 20 ft (6.1 m). The maximum recorded storm surge was 20.2 ft (6.2 m) along Seewee Bay south of McClellanville. This rise in water induced by Hugo resulted in the highest storm tides ever recorded along the U.S. East Coast. Between 3–8 in (76–203 mm) of rain fell across a swath 150 mi (240 km) wide over South Carolina. The maximum rainfall in the state (and the continental United States) was 10.28 in (261 mm) as measured in Edisto Island. Totals between 4–6 in (100–150 mm) were commonplace along the coast of South Carolina.
  The South Carolina Electric and Gas Company (SCE&G) called Hugo "the single greatest natural disaster ever to strike the state", inflicting $5.9 billion in property damage. The hurricane's trajectory swept across three major South Carolina cities. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Storm Data publication, there were 35 deaths associated with Hugo in South Carolina. The hurricane's forces killed 13 people while another 22 fatalities were considered "indirectly-related". Among the indirect fatalities were two people killed by house fires started by candles during the storm. Another 420 people were injured throughout the state. The Red Cross documented the destruction of 3,307 single-family homes and "major damage" to another 18,171. Across eight counties, manufacturers incurred $158 million in damage to factories and $750 million in inventory and income losses. Much of the South Carolina coast was subject to the ferocity of the hurricane's forces. Hugo's storm surge wrecked the barrier islands, thoroughly razing many structures. Many homes on Wadmalaw Island and Johns Island were crushed by fallen trees. The Ben Sawyer Bridge connecting the South Carolina mainland to Sullivan's Island was heavily damaged and became stuck in an open position. Rows of beachfront homes on Sullivan's Island were razed by the surge. Ships at the marina in Isle of Palms were crumpled into a heap on the mainland shore. Beach homes on Isle of Palms were moved 150 ft (46 m) off their foundations by an 11-foot (3.4 m) storm surge; in total, 60 homes were destroyed on the island. The damage in Sullivan's Island and Isle of Palms combined was estimated to be approximately $270 million. Every building on the two islands took damage from the hurricane. Storm surge tore off the pavement from coastal roads and destroyed 80 percent at Folly Beach. All coastal state parks with the exception of Hunting Island and Edisto Beach sustained significant damage.
  Charleston County was at the epicenter of Hugo's devastation. At McClellanville, near the point of maximum storm surge, shrimp boats were pushed as far as 0.5 mi (0.80 km) inland. Commercial and recreational craft damaged other structures as they were carried ashore. A high school used as a shelter for 1,125 local residents was inundated by the ocean's advance; documentation had listed its elevation 11 ft (3.4 m) too high, leading to its mistaken selection as a shelter. The storm surge ac
caption: Damaged beachfront property in South Carolina
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