Hurricanes
To the people of Mississippi and Louisiana, Katrina is the big one. For south Florida, it is Andrew. But for the people of South Carolina, Hugo is our big hurricane. Hugo was the most intense hurricane ever to strike the US coast north of Florida*. It killed 35 people in the U.S. and caused billions of dollars in damage.* Everyone who lived through that hurricane has a story to tell and most of us will never forget it. One of the things that made Hugo so unforgettable was that it wasn’t limited to only the coastal communities. Hugo roared inland, cutting a huge swath across South Carolina. Even Charlotte suffered, with parts of the city without power for nearly two weeks.
Today, September 21, is the twenty year anniversary of Hurricane Hugo. (Since the eye of Hugo actually made landfall near midnight on the 21st, we officially remember both the 21st and 22nd as the Hugo anniversary.) If you don’t remember Hugo, or you want to reflect on it after the passage of twenty years, the Charleston Post and Courier has posted photos, stories, videos and more online. You can also find links to helpful hurricane preparedness resources there. The SC Bar disaster and emergency preparedness page contains even more links to other resources. Be sure to click the link to request a free copy of the Bar disaster preparedness handbook, Prepare, while you are there (or follow this link).
Perhaps we should set aside September 21 every year to review and update our firm’s disaster procedures. Even solos should do this, particularly where technology is concerned. Everyone should be able to answer this question with certainty: “If something happened to my computer today (theft, hard drive failure, flood, fire) can I be up and running on another computer – with all my previous work and programs – quickly and simply?” If you can’t answer this question in the affirmative, contact me.
If you were practicing law during Hugo, please comment below and share your memories and tips — they may benefit other lawyers.
I was still in undergraduate school in Greensboro, but we certainly prepared for the storm to arrive (mostly by purchasing Pat O’Brien’s Hurricane Mix for a party that someone was having). We had a lot of rain, flooded streets and downed limbs, even that far inland.
I was deployed to Georgetown the week following Hugo.We provided guard duty and public assistance to Georgetown County.The force of the storm was sobering.The citizens of Georgetown County did more for us than we ever did for them.They are great people and impressed this up country boy with their hospitality in the midst of their suffering.