Hurricane Hugo (Charleston, SC)

On September 22, 1989 Hurricane Hugo made landfall on Charleston, SC as a category four hurricane. Charleston, SC is much like New Orleans in the sense that it is below sea level and it floods easily. What saved Charleston, SC from being like New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina was the storm sped up and came during low tide. Instead of 20ft waves hitting Downtown Charleston, waves of 5ft came on to shore. The most effected people of Hurricane Hugo were those who lived on the barriers islands of Charleston (ie. Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms). Both islands were cut off from the mainland because the hurricane destroyed the Ben Sawyer Bridge. Most of the homes near water were severely damaged or destroyed by the storm. A lot of people did not have flood insurance so they received no aid from their insurance companies. Also, most of the homes on the barrier islands were not secured well so they sustained a lot of damage just by wind and water crashing against the homes. My parents lived about 20 miles inland and most of their damage was caused by tornadoes and high winds. The most affected were those who lived near water, which were those who were wealthy. Charleston was without power for about a week after the storm and ice had to be rationed. The storm caused 4.2 billion dollars worth of damage, which equates to 7.87 billion dollars worth of damage today. There were 34 casualties and 100,000 people left homeless. With the help of the Red Cross and Salvation Army Charleston was able to rebuild their lives after the devastation of Hurricane Hugo.

The Horn of Africa

     One environmental health issue I am interested in is the famine and lack of food in the horn of Africa. For those of you that do not know what the horn of Africa is, it is Northeast Africa (Dijbouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia). This part of Africa suffers from severe droughts, which in turn makes it hard for any food to be grown here or for any living thing to survive in these extreme conditions.

     Because food is very scarce in these countries the price of foods like corn, tomatoes, and grain are very expensive. Individuals that do not have the money to afford these expensive produce do not get to eat which increases starvation. Starvation and the lack of food and water leads to other diseases. In the upcoming years I would like to see America and other countries come together in an effort to help fight hunger in the horn of Africa.