AFTERMATH IN CHARLESTON

Electricity finally flowed through five downtown hospitals in hurricane-ravaged Charleston, but thousands of people were without power and short of food, clean water, or cash for a fourth day Monday. Hundreds of Isle of Palms residents, meanwhile, were to learn Monday whether hurricane Hugo spared any homes. Boats were scheduled to begin ferrying them to the island, which like other barrier islands, has been off-limits since being evacuated last week.

Coastal South Carolina, hit hardest by Hugo as it swept onto the US mainland with 135 m.p.h. wind late Thursday, suffered billions of dollars in damages, officials said. Preliminary damage estimates in the Charlotte, N.C., area reached more than $366 million.