The news story which ran in the Cheraw Chronicle on September 21, 1989 detailed the destruction throughout the region following Hurricane Hugo.
Almost 22 years later, Karen (Jordan) Kissiah reflects on reporting the storm for the Chronicle
By Karen Kissiah
Hurricane Hugo didn’t exactly sneak up on any of us in Cheraw or Chesterfield County that fateful September evening, 1989. We knew it was coming. We were told by television weather men in the demonstration wind tunnels, with their jaws flapping, to expect 90 mph winds, at least.
We knew to bring all pets inside; move children to sleep in areas of the house away from windows. Like every snow or ice storm we’d ever prepared for, we emptied the bread shelves of every grocery store in town. Little did we know that soon we’d clear the shelves of every chainsaw and generator in town.
But until Hugo had actually come and gone like a thief in the night, I’m not quite sure any of us knew what sustained 90 mph winds could do to our surroundings.
“The storm, I think, matched the worst expectations we had for the county,” Chesterfield County Administrator Chappell Hurst said. “Fortunately , to my knowledge, there have been no reports of fatal or major injuries to anyone in our county.”
The Cheraw Chronicle, September 23, 1989
The tremendous howls of the wind and rain seemed to be magnified by the darkness, making them even more impending and mysterious. In the middle of the night, especially without electricity, the darkness was overwhelming. It wasn’t until morning when people slowly began to emerge from underneath downed trees and roofs that the damage of 90 mph winds could be realized.
“I was filthy,” said the now late Mrs. Leola Short.
“Short’s bedroom and kitchen are (were) in the center of the house. The huge tree fell right smack in the middle of the house.
Susie, the poodle who usually sleeps beside Short’s bed, had gotten under the bed. The worst of the debris fell just shy of Short’s bed and in the kitchen.
Short was so covered in debris when she got to the hospital the heart monitor wouldn’t work. They had to take the monitor off, clean her chest area, and try again to get proper monitor readings, Short said.
The Cheraw Chronicle, October 5, 1989
If you were fortunate enough to still have a car in one piece and could get it out of the driveway the next morning, there was no guarantee you could get where you wanted. Trees were lying across nearly every road in the county and power lines were down as well. My twenty minute drive to town that morning took more than an hour and a half. Highway 52 north of Cheraw was littered with trees. By the time I reached the Chronicle, which was dark and empty, I was exhausted from shoving and rolling trees out of the road. I even took my infamous K-car over some of the smaller limbs.
As a writer for The Cheraw Chronicle at the time, I remember being strangely grateful for the storm having hit on a Thursday. That meant, thank goodness, I had a few days before story deadline. Because without a doubt; there was a story at every turn.
The magnitude of the storm made gathering information painfully slow. The very first day people were busy. They didn’t have time to talk. They were clearing driveways and patching roofs. They were carrying freezer foods and other perishables to any friend or relative who miraculously had power or were smart enough to own a generator. You could hear the buzz of chainsaws and the rhythm of hammers all day long. Stopping for a reporter was not at the top of most people’s to do list.
“Chesterfield County officials are in the process of assessing damages to determine if the county is eligible to apply for federal disaster assistance,” said Chesterfield County Administrator Chappell Hurst.
Very rough, preliminary estimates from county officials total as much as $9,350,000. …
“If the county is declared a federal disaster area, which could take about a week, the subsidy could repay as much as 75 percent of the losses,” added Hurst.
The Cheraw Chronicle, October 28, 1989
Unlike natural disasters Chesterfield County response teams had faced before, Hugo was different because it affected the whole county. Chesterfield County Administrator Chappell Hurst was quoted at the time as saying, “every citizen in the county is basically involved in this disaster.”
Some people were frantic because they couldn’t get in touch with older loved ones and didn’t know how they were going to get to them. Others were grateful to live in a small enough community, when in their darkest hour of fear and confusion, the sound of their voice was all rescue workers needed to know where to go.
When a voice did answer the emergency line, all she could manage to say was, “I need help.” She couldn’t tell them who she was or where she was. Fortunately, “Bubba McLaurin answered the call and recognized my voice,” said Mrs. Short.
After retiring from 30 years of service with J.P. Stevens, Short worked from 1980 to 1986 as a dispatcher for the Cheraw Police Department. “That’s how he knew who I was,” added Short.
The Cheraw Chronicle, October 5, 1989
But the story I want to tell is how I watched two professional men, one of whom I’d never seen without a starched shirt, tie and plenty of cologne, handle the weight of this natural disaster on their shoulders. One was the director of the Chesterfield County Emergency Preparedness Agency and the other was the Chesterfield County Administrator. They were, respectively, Richard Carnes and Chappell Hurst.
Imagine for a minute a small hot, stuffy office. You’ve had no sleep in 48 hours. You’ve been working that long. The phone is ringing off the hook. Every time it rings there’s another desperate situation you’re expected to solve … immediately. And mind, this a phone with a cord. You can’t pace or rock but just so far. Your five o’clock shadow has long forgotten how to tell time. Your own family is at home, without your help. And there sits a reporter for the last three hours still; waiting. She’s just watching and listening and waiting.
Meanwhile, citizens in need of food, shelter, water or any other needs should contact the Department of Social Services. “They (DSS) have helped more than 2,000 people in the last three days,” Hurst said. “And they will continue to offer assistance until the Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Team can take over.”
The Cheraw Chronicle, October 5, 1989
It’s the look on their faces I remember most clearly; that look of sheer determination. They were sort of wild-eyed with adrenaline yet their jaws lines remained calm and stern. Their voices were course from lack of sleep but their efforts were focused. They were focused on managing the various relief efforts in the county so that everyone else, with the same looks on their face, worked as a team. They weren’t the only ones working that hard, but for me their expressions embodied the spirit of our county.
The Emergency Preparedness Team Consists of “somebody from just about every walk,” Chesterfield County Chief Investigating Officer Kenny Welch said. Individuals with various knowledge and experience are called upon to “handle each situation as necessary.”
The Cheraw Chronicle, September 21, 1989
So it’s the comfort of teamwork, community and commitment that I take away from this walk down memory lane. And by the way, it’s nice to live somewhere, again, that when it’s bootstrap time there’s no shortage of marchers.
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