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 Frances
Some areas of Florida received over of rain as the system moved slowly through the state. Heavy rains caused a large sinkhole to develop on Interstate 95 in Palm Beach County, which closed the highway to traffic. Similar to Hurricane Charley earlier in the month, the Florida citrus crops took large amounts of damage. Frances caused heavy damage to the large Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center, ripping off 820 4-by-10 foot aluminum panels covering the building. While Charley caused $700,000 damage (2004 dollars), Frances' damage was significantly greater. Two external fuel tanks for the space shuttle were in the building but seemed undamaged. The Space Shuttle Discovery's hangar was without power. The total damage to space and military facilities around Cape Canaveral, Florida was reported at about $100 million (2004 dollars). Orlando, Florida's theme parks closed Sunday — only the third time Walt Disney World closed for a hurricane, but the second time in a month.