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 Agnes
Upon landfall, Agnes produced abnormally high tides along much of the Florida coastline. The highest tides reported were at Cedar Key, reaching above normal sea levels. The second largest waves were , recorded at Apalachicola. In contrast, few observations of high tides along the east coast of Florida exist; the highest reported was above average in Jacksonville. In Alligator Point, at least 16 homes were swept off their foundations. Six bridges connecting Cedar Key to the mainland areas of Florida were submerged. In addition, a bridge from Coquina Key to St. Petersburg was also underwater due to high tides. Nearly the entire state of Florida reported rainfall, though it was usually in the light to moderate range. Among the highest amounts of precipitation recorded were in Naples, in Big Pine Key, in the Everglades, and in Tallahassee. Near Okeechobee, larger amounts of rainfall may have occurred, though there were no specific observations in that vicinity.
Though Agnes made landfall as a hurricane, no reports of hurricane-force winds exist. However, several locations observed tropical storm force winds. The highest sustained winds and gusts were , both recorded at the Kennedy Space Center. Other reports of at least tropical storm force sustained winds were at in Crestview and Jacksonville, in Flamingo, in Key West, and two observations of in Panama City. Throughout the state, Agnes spawned at least 15 tornadoes, while several tornadoes were operationally unconfirmed. Initially referred to as a "windstorm", one of those twisters destroyed 50 mobile homes and a fishing camp in Okeechobee, as well as cause six fatalities. Another significant tornado occurred in Cape Canaveral, which destroyed two homes and 30 trailers; it also damaged 20 houses and the Port Canaveral Coast Guard station. Overall, more than 100 people were left homeless and caused 23 injuries and over $500,000 in damage. The costliest tornado was also spawned in Brevard County and it destroyed 44 planes at the Merritt Island Airport and an apartment building. In addition, several houses in a nearby subdivision were also damaged. Losses from this tornado are estimated at $3 million.