Hurricane (Typhoon) — Horry, South Carolina

2004-08-14 · Horry, South Carolina

Event narrative

Hurricane Charley initially made landfall on the west coast of Florida between Fort Myers and Tampa as a category four hurricane. The storm crossed Florida, and exited the coast as a category one. About 180,000 people evacuated the Grand Strand as Charley continued northeast, making landfall again near Cape Romain as a weak category one hurricane with sustained winds at 75 mph. It moved up the coast and then inland around Myrtle Beach. In Horry and Georgetown counties, insurance claims totaled $5 million, mostly along the Grand Strand. There were downed trees, roof damage, and flooding along the coast in this area. 65,000 residents lost power, and the estimate for cleanup in Georgetown county alone was $1.5 million. As Charley moved northeast, Brunswick county was hit the hardest, with peak winds around 85 mph. Damage was extensive, with 2231 homes damaged, 231 with major damage, and 40 homes destroyed in the county for a total of $6.3 million. Many beach homes were damaged, with 221 homes damaged at Sunset Beach alone. Crop damage in Brunswick county was also widespread, with 50 percent of the tobacco crop lost, and 30 percent of the corn and field vegetables destroyed. New Hanover county was the next hardest hit, with many business damaged in Wilmington and surrounding cities. The majority of the county had power outages from downed limbs on power lines. Rainfall ranged from two inches near the coast, to around four inches from eastern Bladen county, south through Columbus county. Vegetative debris was widespread, plugging storm drains and contributing to ponding and flooding the next day. Storm surge was minimal, with some minor overwash. Thankfully, only a few minor injuries were reported.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5419009. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.