document: DAMAGE CAUSED by Hurricane Andrew could rise to Dollars 20bn , it was estimated yesterday , as one of the costliest US storms this century threatened a further devastating landfall near the city of New Orleans . Government officials in Louisiana , Mississippi and Texas yesterday advised or ordered more than 2m people to evacuate coastal areas . The hurricane tore through southern Florida early on Monday morning , causing billions of dollars of property damage and at least 12 deaths , and yesterday was moving north-west across the Gulf of Mexico with winds of about 140 miles an hour . At least three people died on Sunday when Hurricane Andrew crossed the Bahamas . Ms Kate Hale , director of emergency services in Florida 's Dade County , which bore the brunt of the storm , estimated that Andrew had already caused Dollars 15bn to Dollars 20bn -LRB- Pounds 7.5bn-Pounds 10bn -RRB- of damage . However , insurance industry analysts cautioned that it was too early to assess the costs accurately . The US industry 's Property Claims Service , the official compiler of disaster losses , had yet to compile a preliminary tally of the Florida bill . A hurricane warning was in effect yesterday along 470 miles of Gulf coast from Pascagoula , Mississippi , to Galvestone , Texas . Several forecasting agencies suggested the likeliest landfall was in central Louisiana , to the west of New Orleans , possibly late last night or this morning . New Orleans , with a population of 1.6 m , is particularly vulnerable because the city lies below sea level , has the Mississippi River running through its centre and a large lake immediately to the north . Much of America 's oil refining industry is concentrated along coastal Texas and Louisiana and several refineries were yesterday partially shut down . These included British Petroleum 's Belle Chasse plant in Louisiana . In Florida , Andrew caused greatest havoc in a largely suburban swathe some 10-15 miles south of Miami . The town of Homestead , near the centre of the storm , was largely flattened , including a local air force base . Miami 's city centre escaped with relatively light damage . More than 24 hours after the hurricane , some 825,000 households and businesses were still without power . The brunt of insurance claims from the Florida storm will fall on the US industry , and companies with a heavy local exposure include the State Farm Group and the Allstate Insurance unit of Sears Roebuck . These are also the leading property/casualty and home insurance groups in Louisiana , together with American International Group . A spokesman for State Farm Insurance said he believed the company had roughly 20 per cent of the Florida market . The mutually-owned company has no reinsurance . Its size has made obtaining reinsurance cover difficult and its reserves , at about Dollars 24bn , have made it unnecessary . According to Balcombe Group , a UK-based claims adjustment firm , other insurers with large exposure in the hurricane-hit area are Hartford Insurance , Aetna and Travellers . Travellers said it had flown 50 claims adjusters in to Florida late on Monday and was assessing losses . About 12 per cent of Travellers ' home insurance premium income came from Florida last year , and 4.6 per cent of its commercial insurance premiums . The last serious US hurricane , Hugo , which struck South Carolina in 1989 , cost the industry Dollars 4.2 bn from insured losses , though estimates of the total damage caused ranged between Dollars 6bn and Dollars 10bn .
extractive_keyphrases: hurricane andrew new orleans property damage disaster losses insurance claims emergency services