This is the beginning of a famous Beatles Song, but today I’d finish the sentence differently. There are thousands of St. Croix residents, past and present, who lived through the harrowing experience that is now known as “HUGO”. Back in September 1989, Hurricane Hugo swept through the territory with 200 mile per hour winds, destroying 85% of homes and businesses on the island of St. Croix, and 70% on St. Thomas (statistics from the Daily News). Back in those days I was thinking about far less serious things than saving my life, like college and boyfriends and road trips. These days, with my life and livelihood fully embedded in all things St. Croix, I wanted to start my day by acknowledging the hardships that our island residents experienced.
My husband Tom is a 30+ year resident who wears the badge of “Hugo Survivor”, and he remembers listening to the roof being peeled off the house he chose as shelter for the storm. The next night, he slept on the floor of his restaurant, the exact spot he pointed out to me just yesterday. He would live there for a week before the roads were cleared to get back to what remained of “home”. The restaurant fed many friends and neighbors with food that would otherwise spoil from lack of electricity for refrigeration. It would be 2 months until his next hot shower. There are so many stories, like these, and worse, that are still discussed day-in and day-out here on St. Croix, the storm literally became a permanent reference point like the birth of Christ. “Before Hugo.” “After Hugo”.
So, even though the economy is “soft” and money is tight, and jobs are precious, let’s celebrate the survivors, who had to rebuild their lives, homes and businesses. With today’s technology (god bless the weather channel!), stricter building codes, and better materials, we have ample time and resources to be prepared. Fortunately we have never seen another storm as destructive as Hugo come through the US Virgin Islands, but we know that other communities in the world have suffered this kind of loss in recent years. Let us acknowledge how far St. Croix has come, and how the spirit of this island community kept it alive in the aftermath of a most devasting natural disaster. Here’s to those that lived and lost during Hugo. “Twenty years ago today” is a day you’ll never forget, but certainly you deserve to be remembered.
altho I wasn’t present- the event known as Hugo started my St Croix experience from a distance. I was travelling in Northern California & was close by during the earthquake a month to the day after Hugo.Everyone in the world is touched by disaster- some daily. I know how devastating an event like that can be to your spirit as well as environment. It has to be seen as a reminder of how truly precious our lives are. Wendy, you said it very eloquently- thanks for life, love & happiness!
I was on ST Croix for Hugo….as well as my honeymoon.
Spent a great week there then another several days that were….well….interesting to say the least.
2 Days at St Mary’s ischool (our shelter)in Christiansted, then 3 more days back at the hotel once called the Divi Resort.
Yes, the hotel was destroyed so we made shelter, found food and survived like Gilligan!
Iit was every bit as bad as the reports and yes, there was looting and attacks etc.
We survived…had a few altercations that were handled and we have great stories.
Looking forward to going back