Remembering Deadly Hurricane Andrew

 

Category 5 Hurricane Andrew  (Source: NOAA)

“Andrew” will forever remain in infamy among Atlantic hurricanes.  It was 30 years ago on August 24 that Hurricane Andrew made landfall in south Florida as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 165 mph.  Having made landfall near Homestead, Florida (south of Miami), Andrew left unspeakable devastation in its path.  It was the first named storm of the 1992 Atlantic hurricane season and was also the only “major” hurricane (Category 3 or higher with sustained winds of at least 111 mph around the center of circulation) of the season.

Hurricane Andrew became the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history and caused roughly $27 billion in damages (unadjusted for inflation).  That’s an infamous distinction Andrew had until Hurricane Katrina 13 years later.  Andrew had a relatively compact size and fast rate of speed as it traveled across south Florida.  Its track south of Miami in combination with its relatively small wind-field (circumference of hurricane force winds) largely spared downtown Miami any significant impacts.  That was fortunate since as bad as Andrew was, it could have caused even more casualties than the 65 fatalities that occurred.

Hurricane Andrew occurred prior to the very active 1995 Atlantic hurricane season that represented a return to an active Atlantic hurricane cycle.  Prior to that, during the bulk of the 1970s through the early 1990s, the tropical Atlantic experienced many below average hurricane seasons.  However, as Andrew demonstrated, you don’t need to have an active season for it to be destructive or deadly. 

When Andrew made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane in Florida, it became only the third on record at the time to make landfall in the United States (along with the 1935 Florida Keys storm and Hurricane Camille in 1969).  Not only was Hurricane Andrew significant for its rare intensity at its time of landfall in Florida, but was also significant for when it occurred.  Florida’s coastal development and population increased significantly during the 1970s and 1980s when there were few direct impacts from tropical cyclones in Florida.  Unfortunately, it was documented after Andrew that Florida’s building codes in the 1970s and 1980s were inadequate.  That contributed to how destructive Hurricane Andrew was. 

Since then, building codes have not only been modernized but have been more stringently enforced.  This week’s focus during a quiet tropical Atlantic should be on the lessons learned from Hurricane Andrew on its 30^th anniversary.  Andrew remains one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.