Hurricane Hugo swept through the Grand Strand in the middle of the night 15 years ago today, the second-most-violent storm, after Hurricane Hazel, to hit Horry and Georgetown counties.

And in just a few hours it left little untouched.

Beachfront hotels were gutted, homes destroyed, swimming pools torn apart, trees uprooted or turned violently to the northwest.

Power and plumbing was out for several days; restaurants and hotels were closed for repairs for weeks, even months.

National Guardsmen from throughout the state were dispatched to patrol our streets and neighborhoods; they stayed for several days.

Hugo caused an estimated $750 million in damage in Horry County and cost about 6,000 people their jobs.

And it raised very real fears that tourists and golfers - our economic lifeblood - might not return for months, maybe years.

Hugo hit Charleston dead on, clocked at about 130 mph.

We were on its outer edges and received winds about half that strong - about 75-mph sustained winds, with gusts up to about 100 mph.

Unfortunately, we were on the north end of the hurricane, the most vulnerable to the ocean's surge. Most of the havoc came less from the wind than from the storm surge.

McClellanville, Garden City Beach, Surfside Beach, even Cherry Grove, which juts into the ocean a bit - each sustained major damage to buildings and infrastructure.

Probably the most harrowing story of survival came from tiny McClellanville, where Mary Linen braved violent wind and rushing water to save herself and her two children.

Using an old extension cord, she tied the three of them to a tree as Hugo's violent surge washed away their home. They did not untie themselves until daybreak.

Pawleys Island was ripped in two, with many of its most expensive beachfront homes turned into kindling.

In Garden City Beach, homes were pushed back to Ocean Boulevard and even beyond.

As national newscasts showed the worst-case destruction, rumors beyond the Grand Strand were rampant.

One travel agent said he heard there were snakes in our streets; another said he heard most of our 65 golf courses had been washed away.

Area chambers of commerce were the first to act, sending press releases to 2,000 newspapers and 200 radio stations.

Within a week after the hurricane, a Hugo Economic Recovery Task Force was formed with one primary goal: raise $500,000 from local businesses and tell the world we are making a speedy recovery.

It raised $1.6 million and quickly spread the word: We are back and we are ready. Y'all come, hear?

As we recall the carnage of that night, it's important to remember one thing: Hugo's winds, when when they hit the Grand Strand, were Category 1 level - far less than the Category 3 storms that have swept through Florida and Alabama in recent weeks.

It is an indication of how lucky we were the night of Sept. 21, 1989 - and how lucky we have been since.

ONLINE | To read past columns, go to Bestler's page at MyrtleBeachOnline.com.