By the numbers: How Hermine, Matthew and Irma compare

In the past 13 months, Beaufort County has endured three storms — Hermine, Matthew and Irma.

Beaufort County Emergency Management director Lt. Col. Neil Baxley said Irma had “nowhere near the numbers we had (of downed trees)” during Hurricane Matthew last fall.

“Matthew was a lesson in wind for us,” Baxley said. “Irma was a lesson in surge.”

Here’s how each of the three storms stack up (statistics for Irma are preliminary):

Peak of storm in Beaufort County

▪  Hermine: morning of Sept. 2, 2016

▪  Matthew: 5 a.m. Oct. 8, 2016

▪  Irma: noon Sept. 11, 2017

Source: The Island Packet archives

Rainfall in Beaufort County

▪  Hermine: 3 to 5 inches

▪  Matthew: 14.04 inches

▪  Irma: 7.76 inches

Source: National Weather Service

Tidal level in Beaufort County

▪  Hermine: unavailable

▪  Matthew: 12.5 feet, which set a new record for that instrument

▪  Irma: 12.24 feet

Note: Measurements, from the National Weather Service, come from the tidal gauge in Fort Pulaski, Ga., the closest instrument to Beaufort County

Wind speeds

▪  Hermine: 55 mph on Hilton Head Island

▪  Matthew: 88 mph on Hilton Head Island

▪  Irma: 76 mph on Parris Island

Source: National Weather Service

Evacuation status

▪  Hermine: No evacuation order

▪  Matthew: Countywide evacuation order

▪  Irma: Evacuation for five barrier islands: Hilton Head, Daufuskie, Harbor, Hunting and Fripp

Source: The Island Packet archives

Evacuation duration

▪  Hermine: No evacuation order

▪  Matthew: About five days; afternoon of Oct. 4 to evening of Oct. 9; Hilton Head bridge reopened 2:45 p.m. Oct. 11

▪  Irma: About three days; 10 a.m. Sept. 9 to 9:15 a.m. Sept. 12

Source: The Island Packet archives

Evacuees statewide

▪  Hermine: None

▪  Matthew: 350,000

▪  Irma: 44,457

Source: S.C. Emergency Management Division

Peak power outages

▪  Hermine: 15,000+

▪  Matthew: 80,000

▪  Irma: 37,000

Source: The Island Packet archives

Storm category at strongest point in U.S.

▪  Hermine: Category 1, near St. Marks, Fla.

▪  Matthew: Category 3, near Vero Beach, Fla.

▪  Irma: Category 4, in Florida Keys

Source: National Hurricane Center

Storm category when in or near Beaufort County

▪  Hermine: Tropical storm

▪  Matthew: Category 2

▪  Irma: Tropical storm

Source: The Island Packet archives

Fatalities

Note: The National Hurricane Center defines “direct deaths” as those resulting from the storm’s forces and includes those who drowned in storm surge and casualties resulting from lightning and wind. “Indirect deaths” occur from factors such as heart attacks, house fires, electrocutions from downed power lines, vehicle accidents on wet roads, etc.

▪  Hermine: One direct death in Florida; one indirect death in North Carolina

▪  Matthew: 585 direct deaths (546 in Haiti, 34 in U.S., four in South Carolina); 18 indirect deaths

▪  Irma: At least 82 deaths (32 in Florida, three in Georgia and four in South Carolina)

Source: National Hurricane Center for Hermine and Matthew; Reuters for Irma

Total costs

▪  Hermine: unavailable

▪  Matthew: $15.5 billion ($11.4 billion in damage, $4.1 billion in lost output)

▪  Irma: $58 billion to $83 billion ($46 billion to $67 billion in damage, $12 billion to $16 billion in lost output)

Source: Moody’s Analytics

This story was originally published September 18, 2017 at 5:19 PM with the headline "By the numbers: How Hermine, Matthew and Irma compare."