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Historic Hurricane Hazel slammed the Carolinas 66 years ago


Hazel Damage - Pawleys Island - Mary Brennan
Hazel Damage - Pawleys Island - Mary Brennan
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On the morning of October 15, 1954, category 4 Hurricane Hazel roared ashore near Little River, SC with 140 mph winds. It destroyed more than 80% of all oceanfront property from Little River to Pawleys Island. It's one of only two category 4 hurricanes to hit the South Carolina coast since records began in 1851. The other of course was Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

Maximum winds gusts were measured at 106 mph in Myrtle Beach, 140 mph at Oak Island, and 98 mph in Wilmington. Unofficially, winds were estimated to be as high as 150 mph from Holden Beach to Wrightsville Beach where the core of the hurricane came ashore.

The storm surge was devastating and peaked at 18 feet in Calabash. The Weather Bureau in Raleigh, NC stated as a result of Hazel, "All traces of civilization on the immediate waterfront between the state line and Cape Fear were practically annihilated". Today, it's still the second-highest storm surge ever recorded on the east coast. Only Hurricane Hugo's storm surge in 1989 at Bull's Bay was higher at 20 feet.

For the Grand Strand, Hazel's storm surge peaked at 10-12 feet. For many, that's higher than what was experienced with Hurricane Hugo. Because of the widespread damage in Myrtle Beach, many families who owned property in the city sold to real estate developers who built bigger hotels and condos transforming Myrtle Beach from a quaint summer town to a high-rise resort city.

Hazel was a deadly storm that killed 95 people in the United States including 19 in North Carolina and 1 in South Carolina.

After obliterating parts of the Carolinas, Hazel picked up speed and devasted part of New England and southern Canada with high wind and rain. Hazel was blamed for 81 deaths in Canada. The city of Toronto suffered the most losses.

Only one other hurricane has ever hit the S.C. coast after this date. The Halloween hurricane of 1899 made landfall near Myrtle Beach on October 31st with winds of 90 - 110 mph.

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