Hurricane Hugo Research Paper

Statement of the Problem Among the events that have had a drastic shaping on human events throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are natural disasters. Often times, a natural disaster will leave residents of affected areas in a state of awe as they seek to understand what exactly happened. One such example is Hurricane Hugo. Hurricane Hugo was a storm that dealt damage to the entire coast of South Carolina in September, 1989. However, one problem that historians have run into with the discussion on Hurricane Hugo is that very few works have been written on the overlying impact Hurricane Hugo had on the entire Low Country of South Carolina. Therefore, this thesis will synthesize accounts of the damage that Hurricane Hugo caused

Among these sources will be books, academic journals, oral history, and newspaper articles from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Additionally, newspaper articles documenting the remembrance of the storm at anniversaries of the event will be useful in providing insight into what happened. For example, the New York Times has its’ articles from the 1980s and 1990s available for access through its website. In addition, the Greenville public library has copies of newspapers from all over the nation that have been digitized and stored online that will have information on the events of Hurricane Hugo. The oral history will take the form of interviews with residents of Charleston, South Carolina who were eyewitnesses to Hurricane

This work analyzes about thirty different hurricanes that had an impact on South Carolina from 1800 to Hurricane Hugo. Some of the books that will be used in this research specifically on Hurricane Hugo include Hurricane Hugo and the Grand Strand, by Cynthia Struby, which, as its title suggests documents the damage to the Grand Strand area of South Carolina. Additionally, work such as Jamie and Dorothy Moore’s Island in the Storm: Sullivan’s Island and Hurricane Hugo will be important in exploring the damage caused to Sullivan’s Island. There are several studies that have been published that detail the damage that Hurricane Hugo caused to both forests. This study on the damage it caused to the forest is important to study to understand the impact on the economy. For example, Jacqueline Haymond and Donal Hook, two members of Clemson University’s Department of Forest Resources complied research with William Harms of the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service on the impact Hugo had on forest management throughout the state in their Hurricane Hugo: South Carolina Forest Land Research and Management Related to the Storm.

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