Hurricane Andrew - August 24th, 1992

Winds at landfall were 165mph, with gusts to 180mph, a 10 mile wide eye and 16.9 foot storm surge.
Highest unofficial gust 178mph
Briefly hit winds of 170mph just east of Eleuthera island in the Bahamas. (recon)

Damage from Andrew

The following statistics are from the aftermath of the 2nd most costly natural disaster in U.S. history behind Katrina in 2005.

The Damage

Obliterated 102 miles of power lines & 300 towers
25,000 gallons of oil spilled into Biscayne Bay
7 million fish killed due to depleted oxygen in waterways
8% of all Florida agriculture destroyed
300 square miles of total devastation
Directly after Andrew 1.3 million without electricity
2,200 traffic lights destroyed
90% of small businesses destroyed
1 billion dollars damage in Louisiana
25 billion dollars damage in Florida
In Homestead 80% of homes destroyed
10,000 acres of nurseries ruined
100,000 homes damaged
63,000 homes badly damaged

The People Affected

In Homestead 7,500 families left homeless out of 26,000
After the storm phone systems overwhelmed with 80,000 calls per minute
Calls to police before Andrew 1,500 per day & after Andrew 6,000 per day
14% of Dade County residents temporarily unemployed
300,000 homeless right after the storm
41 killed as a direct result of the storm
140,000 unemployed in Florida
1 week after Andrew 300,000 still without power

Image of funeral held for victim of Hurricane Andrew.

Naomi Browning, 12, hit by beam
Videl Perez, 49, & Francisco Sospedra, 72, both thrown from trailer
Robert Moak, 32, drowned
Miguel Pulido, 62, crushed
Andrew Roberts, 30, crushed
Claude Owens, 46, neck injury
Robert Ramos, 40, hit by flying debris
Gladys Porter, 91, crushed
Mary Cowan, 67, crushed
Harry Boyer, 67, crushed
Jesse James, 46, crushed
Natividad Rohena, 57, crushed
Tommy Van, 36, drowned
Herbert Engleman, 55, lightning
John Byers, 22, head injury
Henry Bush, 41, hit by debris
Carlos Cabrera, 63, tornado
Jessica Tomlinson, 20, head injuries
Tuan Hoang, 33, & Sau Van Duong, 26, both drowned in Gulf of Mexico
Telford Neely, 16, flying debris
Avaro Pedican & Beverly Moss, no ages, flying debris
Yvonne Cash, 37, drowned
Many others not listed

Relief & Assistance

Free meals served within 10 days was 1.7 million
Supplied by the military within 1 week: 98 helicopters, 1,300 vehicles, 1,333 tents enough to house 27,000 people, 30 portable kitchens, 100,000 blankets, 38,500 cots
65 million dollars spent by Red Cross
7,000 national guard troops
22,000 U.S. military troops, the largest U.S. military operation ever in this country
Many local grocers as well as fast food restaurants donated food
Lykes Bros. donated 100,000 hot dogs
Tropicana sent 3,200 cases of juice & 6 water tankers
President Bush announces 300 million dollars of aid for FEMA assistance
Help poured in from all over the country from small towns to large corporations
People from Broward & Palm Beach Counties convoyed help & donations to the needy.