Effects of Hurricane Andrew in Florida
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 (5.2 m) just north of Homestead near the Burger King International Headquarters; the surge caused significant damage to boats and to the Charles Deering Estate. The nationwide maximum rainfall total from the hurricane was 13.98 inches (355 mm) in the western portion of Miami-Dade County. No major flooding was reported in the state. The hurricane caused about $25.3 billion (1992 USD) in damage and 44 deaths in the state—15 directly from the storm's effects and 29 indirectly related. Many other sources, however, estimated that Andrew caused more than $32 billion in damage in the state. Andrew was, at the time, the costliest hurricane in the history of the United States; it was surpassed in subsequent years by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Ike in 2008, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2017.
Hurricane Elena
According to the Hurricane Research Division of the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, Hurricane Elena produced Category 3 winds ( or greater) in Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. The American Red Cross reported that in addition to the hundreds of single-family homes demolished by the hurricane, over 17,000 sustained some degree of damage; thousands of mobile homes, apartments, and condominiums were also damaged or destroyed. A forecaster at the National Hurricane Center determined the worst of the hurricane's effects were focused around Dauphin Island, Alabama, and Pascagoula, Mississippi, though noteworthy damage occurred across large areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, with effects documented as far west as South Padre Island, Texas, and as far north as Kentucky. Nine deaths were attributed to the hurricane in four states and on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and 134 people along Elena's path were hospitalized, many of them due to storm-related stress. Power outages plagued the entire region, affecting about 550,000 customers. The National Climatic Data Center compiled a total monetary damage figure of $1.3 billion.