Hurricane Hugo hit the Caribbean and North America in September 1989. Hugo was classified category 5 on Sept. 15, and hit the Lesser Antilles and Virgin Islands September 16-19. From the 17-18, Hugo moved across St. Croix and Puerto Rico and weakened to a category 4. On the 19th, Hugo weakened to category 2, however, by the 21st, Hurricane Hugo was reclassified as category 4 and made landfall in the Bulls Bay area of South Carolina. By midnight on 22nd, Hugo had crossed South Carolina, passed west of Charlotte, NC, and was downgraded to a tropical storm (National Research Council 1994).
Wind speeds were recorded as gusting up to 190 mph (165 knots) when Hugo was classified as category 5 and hit several of the islands in the Caribbean. It was one of the strongest storms to ever hit Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and several people were killed in US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and other Caribbean Islands as a direct result. Second only to Andrew, Hugo was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States. It caused $10 billion worth of damage including $3 billion damage in the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, several systems were damaged including electrical systems, phone lines, and many areas (especially in Puerto Rico) experienced water shortages. Coastlines hit by Hugo in both the Caribbean and US were seriously eroded by the storm surges (National Research Council 1994).
When Hugo arrived in South Carolina, wind gusts were measured at 137 mph (119 knots) with sustained winds of 87-121 mph (76-105 knots), and the storm surge reached 20 ft. above tide. Fortunately, three hours after landfall, the windspeed had dropped below hurricane force, and by the time Hugo hit Charlotte, NC 6 hours after landfall, winds were only 54 mph (47 knots) with gusts of 87 mph (76 knots). Even in that short time, Hugo caused intensive damage from South Carolina to North Carolina and over 200 miles inland. Electrical supplies were cut off, and many less well-built structures were destroyed, and as in the Caribbean, several deaths (27 in SC alone) were attributed to Hugo. (1989-1991 Committee on Natural Disasters 1994).