Effects of Hurricane Irma in Florida
Irma was the first major hurricane to strike the state since Wilma in 2005 and the first Category 4 hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Charley in 2004. The storm made landfall in Florida on the same date as Hurricane Donna, the last Category 4 hurricane to strike the Florida Keys. Irma was only the second hurricane to hit Florida since Wilma, the other being Hermine in 2016. Due to few very intense hurricanes since Hurricane Andrew in 1992, there was concern that many Floridians never experienced or did not recall experiencing a hurricane as strong as Irma was projected to be at landfall, with significant growth in population and assets during the previous 25 years.
Effects of Hurricane Andrew in The Bahamas
Hurricane Andrew first made landfall on August 23 as a Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds of 260 km/h (160 mph). The hurricane struck the island of Eleuthera, which has a population of around 8,000, and is generally about 1.6 km (1 mi) in width. Prior to its arrival, the hurricane caused the coastline to recede about 3 mi (5 km), which was followed by what was described as a "mighty wall of water", or a storm surge. The Current, a small village in the northwestern portion of the island, recorded a surge of 7.2 m (25 ft). There, more than half of the houses in the village were destroyed, and the rest of the buildings sustained minor to major damage. On nearby Current Island, the hurricane destroyed 24 of the 30 houses in the village. The island's only road was heavily damaged, with parts still flooded more than a week after the storm.