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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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100989
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10098900.042
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1990-09-18
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NATION, Page 37American NotesHURRICANESPicking Up The Pieces
For the storm-shattered survivors of Hurricane Hugo, the
simplest necessities were sorely missed: thousands were still
without water or electricity. Residents from St. Croix, V.I., to
Charlotte, N.C., found their businesses blown away, their houses
flattened, their jobs gone. Losses were running as high as $3
billion just in South Carolina, where 70,000 people remained
homeless and 224,000 were out of work. The state's top industry,
tourism, may take years to recover. Timber, its third-ranking
income source, took a $1 billion blow, as more than a third of
South Carolina's forests fell to Hugo's winds. It may be 18 months
before the 18,000 miles of blocked roads are cleared.
Private citizens helped their Carolina neighbors in
heartwarming fashion, sending up to 30 truckloads of supplies a day
into the devastated Charleston area. U.S. Marines on bulldozers
removed rubble, and Navy personnel repaired bridges and provided
generators. Congress passed a $1.1 billion relief fund for all
Hugo's American victims, but Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley
complained mildly that Washington may not have "understood" the
"extent of the damage." President Bush belatedly visited the area
for two hours on Friday. Responding to complaints that federal help
had been too slow, Bush said he understood the "frustration," even
while he insisted that "the Federal Government has moved, and moved
expeditiously."