In essence, our state is a sub-tropical peninsula jutting out into the warm, but sometimes turbulent waters of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. No other state is so openly exposed to these threats. Talk of risk in Florida is far from academic. Hurricane Andrew put an end to that. While visited by devastating and deadly storms in its past, nothing in recent memory approached the fury and destruction wrought by Hurricane Andrew.
People worldwide place themselves in history based on historical events or occurrences.
For Floridians, that seminal event is Hurricane Andrew. Our time is reckoned in terms of Before Andrew and After Andrew. Hurricane Andrew became one of the nation's costliest disasters. If Hurricane Andrew had hit more populated areas just a few miles further north, the death and destruction meted out could have been much worse. All parties involved, emergency planners, insurance experts, and members of the Florida Legislature, realized that we were not prepared.