This report describes how, in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo, the South Carolina Department of Mental Health activated its Emergency Preparedness Plan to assist mental health centers and their staff in providing crisis counseling services to the general public. The first section explains the history and structure of the involvement by the Department in emergency preparedness planning since the late 1970s, and discusses the primary role of mental health personnel in providing crisis counseling services to victims of disasters. The second section describes the procedures following the initial hurricane alert, and the dissemination of instructions and plans to mental health center directors and staff throughout the state. The third section describes the mobilization procedures after the hurricane struck Charleston on September 22, 1989. The next three sections provide anecdotal examples of the interventions that clinical teams, known as Go Teams performed during the response and recovery phases of Hurricane Hugo as well as measures taken to help with long term recovery. The final section, "Looking at Hurricane Hugo from Inside Out," discusses and evaluates the experience and the emergency services from the local perspective of the Charleston Area Mental Health Center. The document concludes by listing 20 "lessons learned" from the catastrophe, the mobilization services, and the aftermath. (TE)