Hurricane Andrew

Timeline

• Hurricane Andrew formed on August 16, 1992
• Made landfall as a Category 4* Hurricane in the U.S. on August 24
• Swept across the southern tip of Florida in just four hours.
• Re-intensified in the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall in Louisiana on August 26
• Deteriorated into a Tropical Depression after crossing into Mississippi
• Ceased to qualify as a tropical cyclone on August 28, 1992
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Damage

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• Andrew differed from other Hurricanes in that the majority of its devastation was caused by high speed winds…
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Technology

• Advanced weather tracking systems allowed for accurate predicting of Hurricane Andrew throughout its duration.
• People had enough advanced warning to flee the path of Andrew in Florida and Louisiana
• Fatalities were minimal, most of the damage was to structures and the economy
• Devices for measuring wind speed maxed out and failed, causing a controversy over the actual intensity of Hurricane Andrew.
• Anemometers were not equipped to measure winds over 115 m.p.h.
• N.O.A.A. received reports from civilians of commercial anemometers recording wind speeds in excess of 200 m.p.h. in Dade County, Florida.
• Most official anemometers were physically destroyed or damaged preventing accurate readings to be taken.

Social Policy

• Evacuations were ordered in the Bahamas and Florida 48 hours prior to Andrew’s arrival.
• Residents were informed to take steps in order to protect life and property
• As a result the death toll from Hurricane Andrew was only 65
• Evacuations were ordered in Louisiana less than 24 hours prior to Hurricane Katrina’s arrival.
• The death toll from Hurricane Katrina was 1,836 (confirmed) with 705 missing
• Policies for controlling hurricane damage in Florida failed to mitigate the destruction.
• 25,000 houses destroyed and 100,000 others damaged
• 15,000 boats destroyed, 150 airplanes damaged beyond repair
• Thousands of cars totaled
• Andrew’s destruction lead directly to Florida’s adoption of the Florida Building Code.
• “Specific guidelines designed to engineer stronger homes to withstand hurricane force winds.” – St. Petersburg Times

Insurance

• "Hurricane Andrew was the shot heard around the insurance world."
  • Kevin McCarty, Florida Department of Insurance
• The amount of damage Hurricane Andrew caused forced many Insurance companies in Florida to declare bankruptcy.
• National, State, and Local governments moved quickly to avert the panic from a financial crisis in Florida’s insurance market