8/24/1992: Hurricane Andrew makes landfall at 4:52 a.m. 25 miles south of Miami.
August 24th, 2019
“……Its $47.8 billion worth of devastation no longer ranks it as the most costly natural disaster in American history. But it is probably the most impactful storm to ever hit the U.S.Andrew’s legacy is felt in weather forecasting, building codes and emergency management. When people began crawling out of the debris that morning, they quickly discovered the government was nowhere near prepared…..
Part of the post-disaster disaster was due to complacency. Only two Category 5 hurricanes had ever hit the U.S., and nobody foresaw Andrew turning into a 175-mph monster……
Almost 26,000 homes were totally destroyed, and 102,000 more were damaged. The number of homeless was 160,000, though that didn’t include hundreds of monkeys, snakes, llamas, birds, cougars and other wildlife that escaped from zoos.
Prices for food, batteries, generators and ice soared since there were no laws against gouging. Looters descended and property owners armed themselves to protect what was left of their homes……”
The last radar image taken from NHC before the WSR-57 radar was blown off the roof, 0835 UTC August 24, 1992.