Debris Removal and Channel Shoaling

Dowd, Millard W.; ,

Debris Removal and Channel Shoaling

by Millard W. Dowd, Jr., U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston, United States,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Hurricane Hugo One Year Later

Abstract:

Hurricane Hugo was one of the worst storms of the century to strike the east coast of the United States. The storm tracked a northwesterly course approximately 11:30 P.M. on Sep. 21, 1989. At that time Hugo was a Class IV category storm. The eye of the storm crossed the South Carolina coast at approximately the entrance to Charleston Harbor. The still water level tidal surge varied from 8.7 NGVD at Charleston Harbor to 19.8 NGVD at Cape Romain Refuge which is located adjacent to Bulls Bay approximately 17 miles north of Charleston Harbor. The still water tidal surge at the Little River Inlet Navigation project was estimated to be 11.5 NGVD. This project is located approximately 100 miles north of Charleston Harbor. After initial landfall, the storm continued its path of destruction inland. The storm tracked a northwesterly course across the state of South Carolina between the cities of Sumter and Columbia. After passing Columbia, the storm took a more northerly direction to Charlotte, North Carolina, producing hurricane force winds in Charlotte. The purpose of this paper is to discuss a major challenge caused by Hurricane Hugo (Debris Removal) and to discuss an enigma caused by the storm (Channel Shoaling).

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