Just how bad was Matthew? Read this to find out how the Hurricane Center ranks our storm

It was just as we suspected: Beaufort County was among the areas hit hardest in October by one of the most devastating hurricanes in the nation’s history.

A recently released National Hurricane Center report declared last year’s Hurricane Matthew the “tenth most destructive hurricane to affect the United States.”

The report estimates that “wind and water damage caused by Matthew totaled approximately $10 billion.”

“The combination of storm surge inundation and inland freshwater flooding caused by excessive rainfall resulted in more than 1 million structures having been impaired or damaged by Hurricane Matthew, forcing businesses from Florida to North Carolina to close, and temporarily putting thousands out of work,” the report said.

In South Carolina, the “bulk of the damage associated with Matthew occurred in the counties of Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Dorchester, Georgetown, and Horry.”

Locally, the total cost of the storm is still being tallied — but estimates presented earlier this week to members of the Beaufort County Council suggest the figure could be close to $130 million.

That total includes an estimated $82 million for storm cleanup on Hilton Head Island, home to some of the county’s worst devastation.

The costs do not take into account the economic impact of the storm, but do include the county’s preparation efforts in advance of Matthew and “all of the recovery actions after the hurricane,” deputy county administrator Josh Gruber said earlier this week.

County chief financial officer Alicia Holland said the bulk of the recovery cost comes from debris removal and the figures presented represent “very estimated information.”

Gruber agreed, saying, “We just don’t know what that ultimate (cost) is.”

Beaufort County Councilman Jerry Stewart said, “There are still some questions out there about things like marine debris that aren’t fully accounted for.”

While county leaders expect some of the recovery costs to be reimbursed by the state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, they acknowledge that a significant chunk of the county’s roughly $20-million reserve fund will likely be needed to pay for cleanup efforts.

Lawmakers in Columbia are considering providing about $65 million for statewide storm cleanup, but “we don’t know how that money is ultimately going to be allocated among the counties that had been affected by the storm,” Gruber said.

The county estimates FEMA will pitch in about $68 million.

Even with those contributions, “I don’t think we will be fully reimbursed,” Gruber said. “I think we will be out-of-pocket for something — we just don’t know what that number is yet.”

Nor do county leaders know when any such reimbursement might begin flowing back into local coffers.

County staff is preparing plans to borrow about $30 million to shore up the reserve fund in case of another unexpected major expense.

But, “hopefully we don’t have to experience this again,” Holland said of October’s storm.

The storm, which reached category 5 strength at its peak, caused 34 deaths in the U.S. — including four in South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center report.

The death toll was far greater in Caribbean countries, particularly in Haiti.

“Matthew was responsible for 585 direct deaths, with more than 500 deaths occurring in Haiti, making it the deadliest Atlantic hurricane since Hurricane Stan in 2005,” the report said.

The center estimates Hurricane Stan killed killed as many as 2,000 people, mainly in Mexico and Guatemala.

This story was originally published April 5, 2017 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Just how bad was Matthew? Read this to find out how the Hurricane Center ranks our storm."