Island in the Storm

On the night of September 21, 1989, Hurricane Hugo slammed into the South Carolina coast at Sullivan’s Island—north of Charleston—as a category-four hurricane with winds gusting to 160 miles per hour. The colossal force of the hurricane was punctuated by storm surges ranging from five to twenty feet above sea level. At approximately one minute after midnight, the center of Hugo’s eye crossed Sullivan’s Island near the Isle of Palms. Sullivan’s Island disappeared beneath the sea for nearly an hour. The Ben Sawyer Bridge, the only connection to the mainland, slid into the water. The first news broadcasts reported that everything on both islands had been destroyed. After Hugo left Sullivan’s Island in its furious wake, emergency decrees banned the isolated residents from returning to their homes. Unable to see their condition, or even know if they had anything left, people confronted their town officials. The process of recovery had begun, and for many it would be a long, arduous journey. Island in the Storm, by local authors Jamie and Dorothy Moore, documents in vivid detail the devastation, loss and recovery of the island communities. Now, after seventeen years, homes have been rebuilt and businesses restored and the island’s charm brought back. But things were never quite the same after Hugo, and the memory of the storm and its impact will never be forgotten.