American

For the storm-shattered survivors of Hurricane Hugo, the simplest necessities were sorely missed: thousands were still without water or electricity. Residents from St. Croix, V.I., to Charlotte, N.C., found their businesses blown away, their houses flattened, their jobs gone. Losses were running as high as $3 billion just in South Carolina, where 70,000 people remained homeless and 224,000 were out of work. The state's top industry, tourism, may take years to recover. Timber, its third-ranking income source, took a $1 billion blow, as more than a third of South Carolina's forests fell to Hugo's winds. It may be 18 months before the 18,000 miles of blocked roads are cleared.

Private citizens helped their Carolina neighbors in heartwarming fashion, sending up to 30 truckloads of supplies a day into the devastated Charleston area. U.S. Marines on bulldozers removed rubble, and Navy personnel repaired bridges and provided generators. Congress passed a $1.1 billion relief fund for all Hugo's American victims, but Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley complained mildly that Washington may not have "understood" the "extent of the damage." President Bush belatedly visited the area for two hours on Friday. Responding to complaints that federal help had been too slow, Bush said he understood the "frustration," even while he insisted that "the Federal Government has moved, and moved expeditiously."