Island Residents Expect Worst, and Some Find It : But Many Homeowners Intend to Continue Living on Barrier Islets Despite Pounding by Hurricane

As a bouncing National Guard truck neared her home on this barrier island off Charleston Tuesday, Francoise Goust looked out the back at some of Hurricane Hugo’s worst destruction.

“Oh, my gosh,” she kept muttering. “Oh, my gosh.”

Like hundreds of others permitted to return to their homes along this 7-mile strand for the first time since evacuating last Thursday, Goust was expecting the worst.

“My heart was pounding and I was really crying as we drove up,” she said. “I have been through war in France, but I never saw devastation like this.”

Furniture in her home had been swirled around by wind-whipped ocean surges, and carpets were buried in mud. But, fortunately for Goust and her husband, Jean, a professor at the Medical University of South Carolina nearby, prized books and paintings were unsullied and their three-bedroom brick home suffered no structural damage from Hugo’s best punch.

Even Go-Go, their cat--who had been left to ride out the storm--came meowing forth.

“We’re going to stay on,” Mrs. Goust said. “This is still paradise.”

On Tuesday, things were slightly better in nearby Charleston, as well. Electricity was gradually being restored and there was widespread resumption of water and sewer service.

But the historic region remained a long way from the routine of urban life.

--County officials Tuesday threatened to impose a 22-hour curfew on metropolitan Charleston as sightseeing residents clogged streets, slowing repair crews and convoys of supplies and military vehicles.

--South Carolina Gov. Carroll A. Campbell Jr. said that at least 224,000 workers were temporarily without jobs, and he appealed to the U.S. Labor Department for funds to hire them to help with the cleanup.

Ban on Price Gouging

--Campbell, using his emergency powers, imposed a statewide ban on price gouging and ordered state officials to prosecute persons caught overcharging for food, fuel, housing, clothing and other essentials of life.

--Charleston County officials reported that virtually all of the area’s classroom buildings were damaged in the storm and that, when school is resumed, probably in mid-October, school days may be shortened as rooms with the least damage are used for double sessions.

For a second day, thunderstorms swept across the Charleston area, slowing recovery work and adding even more damage as rain leaked through holes in roofs and windows.

Also, the rain contributed to a sharp increase in auto accidents, which taxed hospital emergency rooms crowded with persons injured by debris and in chain-saw mishaps. At least one person died as a result of a chain-saw accident.

The lines that formed in front of supermarkets and gasoline stations over the weekend were replaced by lines at fast food restaurants, which began opening as power was restored to business districts.

Cargo ships were allowed into the port of Charleston Tuesday, for the first time in almost a week, and officials said that the Charleston International Airport was to reopen for limited commercial flights on Thursday.

Hugo has killed at least 33 people in the Caribbean and 28 on the U.S. mainland, including 17 in South Carolina. The causes of death ranged from drowning to being crushed in collapsed structures.

Electricity has been restored to about 80,000 people in the Carolinas, but at least 480,0000 remained without service, including the Isle of Palms.

It will be weeks before public utilities can be fully restored here and months before homes can be replaced or repaired on the island, which bore the brunt of the hurricane’s fury as it headed up Charleston harbor.

But, after being allowed by city officials to make a quick inspection tour, many of the 4,000 middle-income and wealthy homeowners expressed sentiments similar to Mrs. Goust’s vow to continue living on the island. Hundreds whose homes still stand patched leaky roofs and gathered whatever clothing and valuables they could bring back on chartered cruise boats.

The Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday was ordered to begin construction of a temporary bridge to the Isle of Palms and nearby Sullivans Island.

Residents Infuriated

Mayor Carmen Burch has imposed martial law and called in the National Guard to protect against looting. Many residents were infuriated at being kept off the island for more than three days. They charged that the delay resulted in further damage to furnishings when heavy rains fell Monday and Tuesday.

“They’re idiots,” oceanfront homeowner Birge Sigety shouted to a visitor as a helper temporarily covered bare roof spots. “They’re running people off the island who own homes at gunpoint. My house was dry right after the storm. Now it’s full of water.”

Although many homes were demolished or damaged, it appeared on a quick walk along the island that at least three-fourths could be salvaged. A number of older homes built with unreinforced concrete blocks or bricks suffered major damage, but newer ones required to be perched on pilings generally weathered the storm well.

Dick Caldwell, who runs an aircraft parts business near Charlotte, N. C., found that the only damage suffered at his oceanfront vacation home was to a hot water heater and air-conditioning units placed under the living quarters.

“I didn’t expect anything to survive, but I think the method of construction was the secret,” he said.

His house, sitting 10 feet high on thick pilings sunk 30 feet into the sand, is built in a V shape pointed straight at the ocean, so that onshore winds will not hit it broadside.

Law Restricts Rebuilding

A controversial new state law bans the building or rebuilding of any houses that get too close to the ocean--specifically, they must be at least 20 feet behind the dune line.

Only a handful of destroyed homes here appeared to be affected by the ban. Ironically, however, shortly before Hugo hit, a federal judge ruled that a local landowner had to be compensated $1.2 million for being unable to build on two lots. The state Coastal Management Commission is appealing, contending that such construction encourages beach erosion, subtracts from public bathing areas and subjects taxpayers to high federal flood-insurance costs.

Hugo treated some worse than others--even in the same building. Upstairs, Richard Miller suffered water damage to only a roll of toilet paper. Celebrating with a glass of Southern Comfort, he said: “I almost feel guilty about how I feel. My neighbors downstairs lost everything.”

He was referring to Jim Carroll, a prominent realtor and home builder, and his companion, Inga McAllister. They forlornly picked through a mass of ruined furniture and electronic equipment, looking for two missing airline tickets.

Carroll was furious at the insurer of his home and devastated office, Continental PCP.

“Supposedly, what they sold me was, quote, the Cadillac of insurance,” he said. “But they talked to me yesterday and it’s now questionable. Let’s see how well these insurance companies sell you a bill of goods and stand behind them.”

An agent for the company could not be reached.

Doris Garner returned to her home to find her china and silver OK but her newly purchased refrigerator, dryer, stove and hot water heater gone.

“I’m trying to be thankful,” she said, “but it’s awful hard.”

LOSSES MOUNT: Hurricane Hugo may be the most costly storm ever for insurers. Business, Page 1