Hurricane Hugo and The Citadel - 30 years later

Hurricane Hugo and The Citadel – 30 years later

Hugo is a name that is hard to forget in the Lowcountry.

The storm made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane just north of the Isle of Palms on September 22, 1989. It killed 27 people in South Carolina alone. In the United States and Puerto Rico, Hugo caused $7 billion in damages, which was, at the time, the most expensive hurricane to affect the country.

The Citadel, only about two miles from the Battery and right on the banks of the Ashley River, also suffered extensive damage from Hugo.

Below are photos from The Citadel Archives and Museum, taken after the storm.

Damage inside barracks
Damages and cleanup inside the barracks
Summerall Field and McAlister Field House
McAlister Field House
Trees blown over on The Citadel campus
Fallen branches on The Citadel campus
Johnson Hagood Stadium
The Citadel boat house
The Citadel Beach House

But there was more than just destruction after Hugo — it was also an opportunity for some of the cadets at the time to step up and help clean campus and the neighborhood.