page_title: Effects of Hurricane Andrew in Florida
section_title: Miami-Dade County
hierarchical_section_title: Effects of Hurricane Andrew in Florida / Impact / Miami-Dade County
caption_attribution_description: Hurricane Andrew - Dadeland Mobile Home Park after passage of Andrew Needless to say, mobile homes are not safe in strong wind events.
context_page_description: The effects of Hurricane Andrew in Florida proved to be at the time the costliest disaster in the state's history, as well as the then-costliest on record in the United States. Hurricane Andrew formed from a tropical wave on August 16, 1992 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. It moved west-northwest and remained weak for several days due to strong wind shear. However, after curving westward on August 22, the storm rapidly intensified to reach peak winds of 175 mph. Following its passage through The Bahamas, Andrew made landfall near Homestead, Florida as a Category 5 hurricane on August 24. Eventually, Andrew struck southern Louisiana before it dissipated over the eastern United States on August 28.
  Strong winds from the hurricane significantly affected four counties in the state, which damaged or destroyed over 730,000 houses and buildings, while leaving more than 1 million without power. The storm surge impacted portions of Miami-Dade County, peaking at around 16.9 feet just north of Homestead near the Burger King International Headquarters; the surge caused significant damage to boats and to the Charles Deering Estate.
context_section_description: On the coastline, tides were generally light and usually ranged from 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 m) in Biscayne Bay. However, at the Burger King International Headquarters, a storm surge of 16.9 ft (5.2 m) in height was observed. The building suffered more than $24 million in damage and forced the company to abandon corporate offices during one of its more significant product promotions. Nearby at the Charles Deering Estate, 16 ft (4.9 m) waves ravaged the property. The natural areas were devastated, while only the farthest inland section of the Richmond Cottage remained standing. Damage to repair the estate cost approximately $7.2 million. A large boat was littered ashore in a canal south of Deering Bay, where water levels were 14 ft (4.3 m) above normal. Many boats in southeast Florida were damaged from high tides produced by the storm, most notably, the Belzona Barge was damaged, which was a 215 ft (66 m), 350-ton barge. At the Boca Chita Key Historic District, a bridge and stone wall were destroyed. In addition, the powerful seas also extensively damaged coral reef systems offshore of southeast Florida. It is estimated that the storm caused at least $500 million in losses to boats. At Homestead Air Reserve Base (then known as Homestead Air Force Base), a barometric pressure of 922 mbar (27.2 inHg) was measured, making Andrew the most intense hurricane to strike Florida since the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 and the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in the United States since Hurricane Camille in 1969. Throughout the state, rainfall totals ranged from light to moderate, with precipitation from the storm peaked at 13.98 inches (355 mm) in the Everglades portions of Miami-Dade County.
  Extreme winds were reported in Miami-Dade County; at some locations, the anemometer was either destroyed or failed before the highest winds occurred. A home in Perrine reported winds of 212 mph (341 km/h). However, after a wind-tunnel testing at Clemson University of the same type of anemometer revealed a 16.5% error, that wind speed figure was revised downward to 177 mph (285 km/h). At the Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport, sustained winds of 127 mph (204 km/h) was reported for three to five minutes, though the needle failed before conditions deteriorated further. Sustained winds of 115 mph (180 km/h) and gusts to 164 mph (269 km/h) were reported at the National Hurricane Center headquarters in Coral Gables. Shortly thereafter the anemometer and the WSR-57 radar at the National Hurricane Center were blown off the roof and destroyed. Offshore, the C-MAN station at Fowey Rocks reported sustained winds of 142 mph (229 km/h) and gusts to 169 mph (272 km/h). However, the instrument there failed shortly after 4 a.m. EDT (0800 UTC) on August 24. As the wind field of Andrew was small, the northern extent of hurricane-force winds only reached to Miami Beach.
  Although storm surge caused severe damage, most of the impact in Miami-Dade County was due to very strong winds. In Homestead, one of the hardest hit communities, it was estimated that more than 99.2% of mobile homes were completely destroyed, with only 9 of the city's 1,176 mobile homes remaining standing. At the Homestead Air Reserve Base, most of the 2,000 buildings on the base became "severely damaged or unusable"; only nine of the buildings at that location survived the storm. Shortly thereafter, 70 of the aircraft were flown to other Air Force bases in the Southeastern United States. The former town hall, built in 1917, suffered extensive damage, especially to the roof. Four of the five condominiums at Naranja Lakes were damaged beyond repair, while the fifth was later refurbished. Nearby, the small town of Florida City suffered also heavily. Over 120 homes were demolished, while 700 others were damaged. City hall was damaged beyond repairs, with the roof being torn off and some walls collapsing. In Country Walk and Saga Bay, F3-tornado-like damage was observed, mainly as a result of poor construction; winds between 130 and 150 mph (215 and 240 km/h) were reported.
  At Zoo Miami (the
caption: Damage at the Dadeland Mobile Home Park
exif: {}