In rural Broward County, a weather station reported sustained winds of 53 mph (85 km/h). Some of the panels now hang near the office of Erik Salna, meteorologist and associate director of the International Hurricane Research Center at Florida International University in Miami. After the tiles or shingles were peeled off, the plywood and prefabricated trusses were exposed to the weather. Fish poured out of the kitchen cabinets when opened, he said, and everything –- including the water -- was stained purple. "I mean, it’s terrifying. Evacuations were ordered in nine counties: Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Lee, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Palm Beach, Sarasota counties. [8] A total of 800 houses were destroyed, leaving 1,700 people homeless. Norcross, who served as a guest curator for the exhibit, will be speaking at the anniversary event. The hurricane completely destroyed 63,000 homes and damaged an additional 100,000 homes, Zamanillo said. Hurricane Andrew formed from a tropical wave on August 16, 1992 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. There was initially a concern over how Ingraham would handle the hurricane, due to many of the government officials remaining in power from the previous administration; however, government response to the hurricane was normal. They keep saying we're going to get supplies. The truck his family used for their landscaping business was in the "exact spot" where they left it, but "completely flipped over." Wind gusts reached up to 177 mph in some areas before the instruments failed. In 2010, storm watch and warning lead times have since increased to 48 hours and 36 hours, respectively, before the arrival of tropical storm-force winds. [71], In July 1996, Governor Chiles established the Florida Building Codes Study Commission, with the purpose of assessing the buildings codes at the time, as well as enacting improvements and reform to the system. [9] The Lynden Pindling International Airport near Nassau recorded 61 mm (2.37 in) of precipitation during the passage of Andrew. The American Red Cross delivered 100 tents, 100 rolls of plastic sheeting, and 1,000 cots. Overall, 3,450 people stayed in the shelters opened in the county, while it is estimated that 43,000 evacuated. "It was a story about a storm that really devastated these areas, and more importantly, how the community really bounced back," he said. Although effects from Andrew were catastrophic, the extent of damage was limited mainly from Kendall south to Key Largo due to the small wind field of the storm. Wild animals ran rampant. When you opened the door, we had seaweed in the refrigerator, and I know we hadn’t bought any recently.". The storm caused damage to south Louisiana and the Bahamas, but the brunt of its impact fell on South Florida, where: About 250,000 people were left homeless in Dade County alone. In terms of track accuracy, the average error in 1992 versus today would be cut in half, said Daniel Brown, meteorologist for the National Hurricane Center. [9] However, within hours after the storm hit, HMS Cardiff, a British Royal Navy destroyer on regular Caribbean patrol arrived, and within days a platoon of 30 British army combat engineers with Royal Signals support arrived from Belize,[9] along with supplies for rebuilding and constructing temporary shelters. [92], During the storm, a facility housing Burmese pythons was destroyed, allowing many of them to escape into the Everglades. [7] In Spanish Wells, located near the north coast of Eleuthera, three buildings were destroyed, and a bridge connecting to a neighboring island was wrecked. This led the Florida Legislature to create new entities, such as the Joint Underwriting Association, the Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association, and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, in effort to restore adequate insurance capacity. [7] There, more than half of the houses in the village were destroyed, and the rest of the buildings sustained minor to major damage. Shortly thereafter, 70 of the aircraft were flown to other Air Force bases in the Southeastern United States. "Everyone was listening to Bryan Norcross," Warner said. [43] A storm surge of about 6 ft (1.8 m) in height was recorded in Goodland. Andrew was a small and ferocious Cape Verde hurricanethat wrought unprecedented economic devastation along a path through the northwestern Bahamas, the southern Florida peninsula, and south-central Louisiana. Prior to Andrew, the base employed approximately 6,500 military personnel and 1,000 civilians and annually added about $450 million to the local economy. Sunday, Aug. 23, 1992: At 8 a.m., the first hurricane warnings are issued for southeast Florida after Andrew becomes a major hurricane. In both Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park, over 25% or 70,000 acres (280 km2) of trees were felled or severely damage. [24] The former town hall, built in 1917, suffered extensive damage, especially to the roof. As a result, military officials opened another tent city at the Miccosukee Indian Reservation. [32] On Key Biscayne, a number of large trees fell, blocking the main bridge linking the island to Virginia Key and Miami. "You had your radio or television," as well as the brick Motorola cell phones, Zamanillo said. After Andrew, the state worked on building codes and better enforcing them, Koon said. Forming from a tropical wave on August 16, Andrew remained weak until rapidly intensifying on August 22, and late on August 23 it made its first landfall in The Bahamas on Eleuthera as a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 260 km/h (160 mph); early the next day Hurricane Andrew passed through the southern Berry Islands with winds of 240 km/h (150 mph). The NHC website hadn’t even been developed until the late mid-1990s. "We were inland," Warner said. At night, neighbors would switch on the headlights to their cars so there would be "some sort of light," Lopez recalled. About 500 trees were downed in Deerfield Beach. While nearby areas remained relatively unscathed -- including the cities that were originally slated to fall under the monster storm’s path –- South Miami neighborhoods experienced utter devastation that left hundreds of thousands of people homeless in Miami-Dade County. Economically, the southern half of Miami-Dade County was "never the same again," after it lost one of its "true economic motors," the U.S. Air Force base in Homestead, Richard Olson, director of the International Hurricane Research Center at FIU in Miami, told ABC News. [9] The hurricane caused four deaths in the country, of which three directly;[3] the indirect fatality was due to a heart failure during the passage of the storm. As the entire group was huddled in a double-wide bedroom closet –- using a mattress for extra protection -- Warner’s mother turned to him to say she forgot her knitting. [82] Within six months, five people killed themselves in circumstances linked to the hurricane.[83]. "As a result of being through Andrew, people forgot that most hurricanes are about water, not wind.". Before 1992, the state experienced a decades-long hurricane dry spell, Salna said. Friday, Aug. 14, 1992: Ten days before making landfall in Florida, Hurricane Andrew began as a tropical wave, which models detected off the coast of Africa. [3], Late on August 22, a hurricane watch was issued for the East Coast of Florida from Titusville to the Florida Keys, which included Dry Tortugas. She would even get scared during thunderstorms, she said. No major flooding was reported in the state. "You weren’t about making a living. Today, "you’ll see that buildings will stand up better against hurricane-force winds," he said. On the Card Sound Bridge, which connects Key Largo to the mainland of Florida, the toll booth was completely destroyed. [4], On New Providence, the hurricane destroyed one house,[4] but caused no major damage in the capital city of Nassau. When Zamanillo drove to Homestead the next day to check on a relative, it was difficult to navigate his way south. They’re moving furniture around, but they’re here to help us.". One of his most memorable instructions is when he instructed people to cover themselves with a mattress. Throughout the year, the NHC works closely with emergency managers, who make the evacuation decisions and advise residents what they should do to prepare, Brown said. In 2013, the technology was improved to provide a probability over the next five days. "All of a sudden you’re hit with, 'Wow. The next concern after a big storm is damage assessments, getting people into shelters and restoring power, Koon said. Since 1992, the state’s utility companies have spent billions of dollars to strengthen the power grids’ infrastructures so that the "power will stay on for more people during the storm" and to ensure a speedier recovery effort for those who do lose power, Koon said. However, other estimates report that Andrew created $32 billion in overall damage. On the following day, a hurricane warning was posted from Vero Beach southward to the Florida Keys and included Dry Tortugas. The Dolphins thus had their season opening on the road against the Cleveland Browns on September 14, while the home opener was held on September 20 against the Los Angeles Rams. The result was record growth in places like Miramar, Pembroke Pines and Weston. [4], In Collier County, to the north of the storm's path, sustained winds up to 98 mph (158 km/h) were observed in Chokoloskee. [4], On the Florida Keys, light rainfall occurred, especially in the Lower Keys, where 2.02 inches (51 mm) was reported on Cudjoe Key. [70] Stricter building codes were created in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. Bryan Petersen, 29, told ABC News that only a "stump of a house" was left after Hurricane Andrew caused chest-deep waters to flood his family's home in south Miami. Hurricane Andrew, the last category 5 storm to strike the United States, made landfall in southern Miami-Dade County near Homestead on Aug. 24, 1992. However, the instrument there failed shortly after 4 a.m. EDT (0800 UTC) on August 24. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Friday, Aug. 21, 1992: Tropical Storm Andrew strengthens. Lopez, who now lives in Homestead, said she and her family slept in the living room for about four months while their home was reconstructed. It wasn’t a "Katrina-sized storm," he said. By 1800 UTC on August 24, all watches and warnings issued in anticipation of the storm were discontinued. Florida is now the country’s leader in emergency management and preparedness, Salna said. Although a majority of animals at the zoo remained outdoors during and after the storm, only five animals perished, either by debris or the consumption of contaminated water. [81] Dozens of children in the area attempted suicide, while counselors reported that between 50 and 60 children discussed killing themselves between December 1992 and January 1993. A clubhouse and an amphitheater were deroofed in Sunrise, while a number of trees were felled. Hundreds of thousands more people may have been affected had the storm stayed north. I’d never seen anything like it before. "It was the economic keystone for Homestead, and it went with the hurricane," Olson said of the Air Force base. The storm surge impacted portions of Miami-Dade County, peaking at around 16.9 feet (5.2 m) just north of Homestead near the Burger King International Headquarters; the surge caused significant damage to boats and to the Charles Deering Estate. [50] Instead of continuing to live in Miami-Dade County, more than 100,000 residents moved northward; this significantly altered the area's racial demographics.