History of Florida
Hurricane Andrew in August 1992 struck Homestead, just south of Miami, as a Category 5 hurricane, leaving forty people dead, 100,000 homes damaged or destroyed, more than a million people left without electricity, and damages of $20–30 billion. Much of South Florida's sensitive vegetation was severely damaged. The region had not seen a storm of such power in decades. Besides heavy property damage, the hurricane nearly destroyed the region's insurance industry.
Hurricane Audrey
On the Mississippi Gulf Coast, winds and tidal action caused some damage. However, the most severe damage in Mississippi occurred in a band stretching from the southwestern to northeastern corner of the state. Four tornadoes touched down in the state resulting in slightly over $500,000 in damage; a tornado of F-2 intensity near Philadelphia, Mississippi destroyed seven homes and caused nine injuries, while an F-3 tornado—the strongest caused by Audrey—killed one in Brooksville. The Brooksville tornado also destroyed a Kraft Singles plant in the western side of the city and hospitalized six people, with another 25 suffering minor injuries; damage from that tornado was estimated between $100,000–$300,000. Another tornado destroyed a grocery store and several large buildings in Clara. The strongest winds in Mississippi were measured in Jackson and Greenwood, clocking at . Mississippi's southwestern regions saw the heaviest rainfall in the state from Audrey, with rainfall totals ranging from . Heavy rains caused minor flooding along the banks of the Pearl River and Big Black River, affecting some farm lands. One person was electrocuted in Kosciusko after attempting to upright a utility pole, bringing the number of fatalities in the state to two. The total cost of damage in the state was $9 million, and 50,000 homes sustained some form of damage. Loss of crops in Mississippi totaled $2 million with corn, cotton, hay, and unharvested oats heavily damaged. As was the case in Louisiana, boll weevil poisoning efforts were thwarted in Mississippi.