Hurricane Hugo (Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Moncks Corner: work, houses, move)

[aetcas]

Quick question for those that have lived in Mount Pleasant or Daniel Island area since the time of Hugo in 1989...how hard was this area hit? Was there significant flooding specifically in Mount Pleasant? How long did it take before things were back to normal? This is one thing that is making us hesitate on a move down to the coast. Is Mount Pleasant prone to flooding or is it far enough away from the coast to be considered safe?

[scjj]

You might want to check this out: Hurricanes

[DJShymansky]

Or this In the eye of the hurricane I.

[fqtravlr]

Okay, just a few short sentences. Hugo DID NOT make a direct hit on Charleston. It made a direct hit on McClellanville, to the North. They had flooding on the second floor of homes in McClellanville. Even with what amounted to a glancing blow, the Charleston area (pretty much all of it) was without power for 13 days. Had Hugo made landfall directly over Charleston, the devestation would be unimaginable. All these new communities around Charleston, from Johns Island to Daniel Island, and a few extra rows of houses on the front beaches have never weathered even a brush with this big of a strom. It will be shocking if something tragic occurs with the amount of buildup we have seen since 1989.
And yes, Sullivan's Island (right in front of Mt Pleasant) was under water, if you'd like something to gauge by. Well, everything except the bunkers. That was a glancing blow from Hugo.

[fqtravlr]

By the way, no one lived on Daniel Island in 1989. It was a preserve owned by the Gugenheim Foundation to remain pristine in prepetuity. Amazing how things work out...

[innocence123]

Hurricanes are the primary reason why i dont want to move to the charleston area. a major category 4 would cause massive flooding, wind damage, power outages, down trees and looting, ravaging. charleston isn't as susceptible to the wind surge as florida or new orleans due to it having a slightly higher elevation that rises abruptly from the coast but i still wouldn't want a direct hit.

[innocence123]

however the thought of a hurricane is horrible is bad but sometimes i think that people do kinda exaggerate it a little

[fqtravlr]

Originally Posted by innocence123

however the thought of a hurricane is horrible is bad but sometimes i think that people do kinda exaggerate it a little

Live it, then you will know. I can spend hours giving you first hand accounts of Hugo AND Andrew, which hit Homestead, FL in 1992. The devastation there was much more complete than we got for Hugo. Go ahead. Ride out the next big storm. Then you will understand.

[DCartisan]

I don't think we could over-exaggerate the force of Hugo. Andrew was a monster but Hugo was a stronger storm. If Hugo had hit Florida the damages would've been worse.

We were lucky not to receive a direct hit. My parents have a home in Mount Pleasant. When Hugo hit, I was a senior at Wando and our house was flooded with 6' of water. We had furniture, clothes & personal belongings in our yard from houses on the Isle of Palms in our yard, 5 miles away. It floated over the Intracoastal Waterway to litter our neighborhood.

We were a good 20-30 miles away from the center of the storm. We took shelter at Wando HS in the gym and during the middle of the night all the windows blew out because of the pressure. We had to walk to the main building (200 men, women, children) by linking arms in 100+mph winds in the middle of the night with no lights carrying all our stuff.

These storms are no joke and one of the reasons I moved inland a bit.

[Luvsdabeach]

To this day I still remember the sound of the wind from Hugo. I lived in Moncks Corner at the time and the only tree that was left standing was a Live Oak.

Here's how far inland a cat 4 winds will go inland.
Southeast Storms - 144mph