Description
Hurricane Hugo in September 1989, was the strongest storm to srike the US since Camille hit the Louisiana and Texas coast in 1969. Hugo was a category 5 storm at its strongest and was still a category 4 when it affected the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and South Carolina.
The origin of Hugo was detected on satellite imagery on the 9th of September when a cluster of thunderstorms moved off the coast of Africa. It developed into a tropical depression to the southeast of the Cape Verde Islands the following day, then moved westward near 20 mph across the tropical Atlantic Ocean, becoming a tropical storm on the 11th and a hurricane on the 13th, while located 1100 nm east of the Leeward Islands. The storm turned west-northwest and slowed its forward motion in response to low pressure to the north of Puerto Rico which weakened the subtropical ridge to its north. Hugo struck Guadeloupe just past midnight on the 17th. Continuing to decelerate, the eye moved over St. Croix very early on the morning of the 18th. It then accelerated, moving over Vieques, Puerto Rico mid-morning and then over the extreme northeast tip of mainland Puerto Rico an hour later.
On 17 September 1989, Hurricane Hugo, one of the most destructive weather systems ever recorded by the National Weather Service, struck the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. Windspeeds were maintained at approximately 140 mph as it crossed the islands. The hurricane destroyed nearly all of the life support systems for a population of over 50,000; including the fresh water supply, the island's electrical generation capability, and the fuel supply. Food was limited to that in stores and warehouses, and much of that was either damaged or destroyed. Telephone lines were down, and over ninety percent of all buildings destroyed or damaged. Every hospital and medical clinic was either severely damaged or completely destroyed. Every structure of wood or metal, including the homes of the island's poor, was destroyed. Fuel spills created hazardous environmental conditions.
The ensuing chaos and total breakdown of law and order resulted in widespread looting and general lawlessness throughout the island. The police department was incomplete disarray. Additionally, from 200 to 600 prisoners had escaped from the island's only territorial prison. Initially, beginning on 16 September 1989, Governor Alexander Farrelly called up troops under a Territorial mobilization. On 20 September 1989 via EO 12690, President Bush invoked the Insurrection Act to federalize the National Guard to impose order following violence and looting in the wake of Hurricane Hugo. Virgin Islands reported 954 ARNG and 29 ANG personnel mobilized for the year.
President George Bush ordered federal forces to St. Croix to suppress the violence, protect property, and restore law and order. Elements of the Army, Navy and the Coast Guard, along with a contingent from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) formed Joint Task Force (JTF) 40 for Operation Hawkeye.
The Army element of JTF-40 was a Military Police brigade with medical, engineer and other support personnel. Immediately upon arrival in St. Croix, the 503d deployed three-man teams into the island's two major cities. Looting and other disturbances ceased immediately. Within 24 hours, the MPs were enforcing a dusk-to-dawn curfew. Law and order had been restored. Military police patrolled the island for two months. They provided security for key installations, worked with the FBI and the U.S. Marshals to apprehend all escaped prisoners and to intercept air-dropped bundles of cocaine valued at over $50 million; and carried out extensive training for the Virgin Island National Guard conducted and joint patrols with the St. Croix Police Department.
