
In 1987, my mother and I were living in an oceanfront condo in Garden
City Beach. When I finished school that year, my mother decided to return to her
hometown (Hampton, SC) to renovate her grandparent’s home. Just two years
later, the very place we had called home for many years was ravaged by the
historic force of nature known as Hurricane Hugo.

Hampton is located about an hour and a half south of Charleston. It
also sits just east of Savannah, GA and just north of Beaufort and Hilton Head
Island. Early in its forecast, Hugo was said to possibly be on track to hit the
Beaufort area which would have been disastrous for our Hampton. My grandfather
told harrowing stories about Hurricane Gracie which hit Beaufort in the
fifties. The damage from that storm made it to Hampton. Hugo; however,
continued up the coast sparing our area from major damage.
Hugo made landfall just after midnight on September 22, 1989, I remained
wide awake in my mother’s bed listening as branches cracked and crashed, rain
poured on the tin roof and the glass in our 97-year-old windows rattled and
shook all night. The next day, there were downed power lines, uprooted ancient
oak trees, and debris scattered about, but for our neighbors to the north, it
was far worse.
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Murrells Inlet |
In the days after Hugo made landfall I remained glued to the television
watching legendary meteorologist, Charlie Hall, on Charleston’s Live 5 News. He was
broadcasting from a remote, makeshift, non-air conditioned studio somewhere near
Awendaw as channel 5’s studios had been heavily damaged. While most media
attention focused on Charleston (landfall was just north of the city in
McClellanville), I watched for any news about my beloved Grand Strand home.
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Garden City Beach |
If you have ever lived in Garden City Beach you know that a full moon
or a nor’easter can cause major flooding and erosion, so imagine a 13-foot
storm surge. Even though the Grand Strand area didn’t receive the brunt of the
storm, it was on the north eastern side which is typically not a good place to
be. The area received 75+ mph winds and a heavy storm surge resulting in high
levels of damage along the 60-mile stretch of coast known as the Grand Strand.
As the aerial footage began to come in, I watched in disbelief and tears.
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Surfside Beach |
As in most cases of major disasters in our country and especially in
South Carolina, this disaster while devastating, truly brought out the best in people.
Neighbors helping neighbors, other South Carolinians donating money, water,
clothing, cleaning supplies, etc. to the coast, and then there was the leadership of
people like Charleston Mayor Joe Riley who worked tirelessly with others to get
his city back in working order. South Carolina’s resilience and strength truly became
apparent to the rest of the country in the days after Hugo.
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Francis Marion National Forest |
Just four years after Hugo, I moved back to the Grand Strand. Even then
reminders of Hugo could still be seen in my trips up and down US 17. The
snapped trees of the Francis Marion National Forest and the old fishing boat
which remained for many years in the median of US17 somewhere near Awendaw were
subtle reminders that Hugo had been there.
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Garden City Beach |
With 160 mph winds and storm surges up to 20 feet, Hugo was the
costliest and most damaging hurricane recorded in United States history until
Andrew in 1992 (Florida). In South
Carolina alone Hugo did 6.5 billion dollars in damage (16.6 billion by today’s
standards), took the lives of 35 South Carolinians, made 60,000 homeless, and
left 270,000 residents temporarily unemployed. Due to the extensive destruction of this
storm the name Hugo was retired never to be used again in naming an Atlantic
storm. In the 27 years since, thankfully we have not experienced a storm like
Hugo in our area. Hopefully, we never will. There is always that risk, though.
I guess some would say it’s the price we pay to live in such a magnificent and beautiful
place.
Christi Wickliffe-Bessinger
Advertising & Marketing Manager
Garden City Realty, Inc.
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