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 Abby (1968)
Abby dropped 4–8 inches (102–203 mm) of rain across southern and western Florida. The highest rainfall total was in Hart Lake. On the Florida Panhandle, rainfall up to 2 inches (50.8 mm) was reported. Gusts went as high as 87 knots at the 60-ft Tower. Four tornadoes were reported during Abby's landfall. Two of which caused $8,000 dollars (1968 USD) in damage in Florida. Six fatalities resulted from drowning, electrocutions and traffic accidents were reported during the storms landfall. In all, damage in Florida by Abby amounted to $250,000 (1968 USD). The rainfall was beneficial in Florida, as it aided in ending a drought in the state. Two tornadoes in Florida were spawned in association with Abby, both on June 4. One was near the Indian River in Brevard County at 6:30 PM EDT. No injuries were reported and damage was estimated at less than $5,000 worth of damage. The second tornado touched down in Polk County at around 9:30 PM EDT. It resulted in no injuries and caused less than $500 dollars in damage. A funnel cloud was observed at Cape Kennedy around 8:10 AM, but it never touched the ground.