Hurricane Hugo sept 9-25,1989

Although Hugo made landfall 200 miles away in Charleston, South Carolina, North Carolina still suffered $1.7 billion in damages. A large portion of those damages occurred in the lumber industry. About 68,000 acres of North Carolina’s forests were destroyed, and another 2.7 million acres were damaged. In total, the state lost $435 million worth of lumber.

At the time, Hugo was the most expensive hurricane to ever hit the United States. Although this record was shattered by later storms like Andrew, Fran, Floyd, and Katrina, Hugo is still listed in the top ten costliest US storms. The National Weather Service (NWS) estimates that if Hugo were to hit today, it would destroy 21,000 homes and cause $8 billion in damages in South Carolina alone.

Economy