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. |
| 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 |
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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 |
