23 years after Hugo, S.C. in hurricane gap

Hugo's impact still felt in S.C.23 years later

It's nearly impossible for any person living in the tri-county area in September of 1989 to forget the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo. Thousands of buildings, like the one pictured here, were decimated in just a few short hours.
  Eleven major hurricanes have made landfall in South Carolina in the past 300 years, or an average of one every 27 years.
The last major storm to hit the state was Hugo on Sept. 21, 1989, 23 years ago today.
So are we almost due?
Statistically, yes.
Realistically, you can’t predict major hurricane landfall based on those types of statistics.
The time gaps between major storms hitting South Carolina are all over the board, ranging from two months to 61 years, based on research by Cary Mock of the USC Department of Geography.
Hurricane season of 1893 must have been hell on the S.C. coast, with major hurricanes hitting in August and October. At least most folks who lived through 1893 didn’t have to experience another one because the next major hurricane to hit the state was in 1954.
Emergency managers worry about the current 23-year gap’s impact on the cultural memory. They wonder if the hundreds of thousands of coastal residents who never have lived through a major hurricane might take future threats lightly.
“We have a lot of people who have moved into the state in the last 23 years, and we don’t have a lot of new roads,” said Derrec Becker, spokesman for the S.C. Emergency Management Division.
His agency puts out annual hurricane guides and suggests emergency preparations during annual hurricane week events each September. Becker likes to remind folks that hurricanes aren’t the only natural disasters that hit South Carolina, and most of the preparations required for hurricanes also work for other disasters.
Hurricane awareness in South Carolina also gets a boost when storms hit other areas. When Floyd whipped North Carolina in 1999 and Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast in 2005, people in South Carolina saw the photos and videos.
“As recently as Isaac (last month), we were all watching,” Becker said. “It gets everybody aware that the entire Southeast is vulnerable.”
And don’t let recent history fool you into thinking South Carolina is less vulnerable. In addition to the 11 major hurricanes in the past 300 years, there have been at least four strong Category 2 storms, in 1854, 1881, 1896, 1911 and 1916, according to Mock. Add those five to the equation, and a storm of powerful Category 2 strength or higher hits the state approximately every 20 years.
While only weak Category 1 storms (Charley and Gaston in 2004) have hit the state since Hugo, longtime South Carolinians never will forget the devastation of September 1989. Hugo caused $4.2 billion (in 1989 dollars) in damage and killed 27 people in the state.
“South Carolina, when it comes to hurricanes, may not get hit that often, but when we do it’s bad,” Becker said.
S.C. hurricane history
On the 23rd anniversary of Hugo, here’s the list of major hurricanes that have hit South Carolina since 1700, based on research by Cary Mock of the USC Department of Geography.
1713, Sept. 17
1728, Aug. 13
1752, Sept. 15
1804, Sept. 7
1813, Aug. 27
1822, Sept. 27
1893, Aug. 28
1893, Oct. 13
1954, Oct. 15
1959, Sept. 27
1989, Sept. 21

23 years after Hugo, S.C. in hurricane gap - The Item: AP State News