After dodging all the big storms and dealing with the minor hurricanes, Charleston's luck ran out in 1989. Hurricane Hugo hit 21-22 September 1989 as a Category 4 storm. He hit at night. For years I couldn't sleep at night when it rained. We lucked out in that we had minor damage. Got a new roof. For weeks we were without power. That I learned to accept. Being without water for ONE WEEK was killer. You'd go to wash your hands after cleaning up debris and nothing!! We had a rain storm a few days after the storm hit. My sister and I went to the backyard and let Mother Nature be our shower!! Washed the hair, cleaned the body, felt good!!
I guess that's why seeing the whole mess with Hurricane Katrina got to me. That could have been Charleston, Savannah or any city on the East Coast. A hurricane that hits at high tide is the worst. New Orleans had double whammies with being at or below sea level and the levies.
But hurricanes are a fact of life on any coast and have been for years. The photo below was taken less than a month after Hurricane Hugo hit in front of the Slave Market. I think that sums up not only Hugo but all hurricanes!!
