Hurricane Hugo struck 36 years ago. I recall watching Leslie Lyles (a newscaster in Charleston, SC at the time) say, “GET OUT, GET OUT NOW!” However, it was too late. Shortly after she stated this, the power went out. It was a terrifying night, to say the least. My sister and I moved into the hallway, where there were no windows or glass to break. Bedroom doors closed (and we positioned a large piece of furniture in front of a window), yet the sound was as if we didn’t have any windows. It was quite noisy. The wind blowing from behind the door caused my hair to blow as if I were outside. We didn’t drink, but that night we shared a tiny Michelob and fell asleep, waking up at 9 a.m. to the sound of saws. We pulled back the plastic and peeked outdoors. OHMYGOSH. We believed we were seeing limbs snapping one after another, but they were actually enormous pine trees. The weight of a soaked and incredibly massive pine tree is great, causing a few homes to collapse. We were quite fortunate. I’m extremely thankful.
I recall each of Rob Fowler’s photos. I had recently relocated to Summerville, SC, and was working a lot (remember, we didn’t have cell phones), so I didn’t realize there was a storm coming until the day before. I drove to work that morning, against the traffic. I worked till the weather began to deteriorate shortly before noon. The two of us that showed up to work wrapped all computer equipment in plastic and relocated it to higher ground. I got in my car and tried to get home (it seemed strange being the only one heading towards what was likely to be a disaster rather than away from it). My sister and I endured the storm without power or water for an extended period of time. Trees are down everywhere. Powerlines are down practically everywhere, gas station roofs are on their side, and boats are in the road in Charleston. We had to believe what we heard about Charleston, such as “the Market area had been leveled” and other stories (which were false). Oh, it was horrible, but it made us stronger as a group.
When we got over our shock at what we had seen, we used our charcoal grill to make coffee. (Neither of us had ever used a charcoal grill before) – I didn’t wait long enough for the charcoal to heat, so the coffee tasted like lighter fluid.
We volunteered with the Red Cross (they served coffee in the morning!) and would travel out into rural areas to document whatever they asked us to capture (that was a long time ago). Then return with the information they needed. Day by day. I was grateful to have something to do, an opportunity to help, even if only indirectly. Then a miracle occurred. Although Dominos in town was able to open, we still did not have electricity or water. The Red Cross asked us to go pick up pizzas for all of the volunteers. We did not go hungry. Two Michigan girls in a (very) remote area of South Carolina was difficult; there were no phones or apps for directions, so it was a combination of luck and divine intervention that got us back into town every day. When you’ve been through a Category 4 hurricane, you take the warnings seriously. Check out these photographs from our local meteorologist. More information and videos can be found HERE!
