Hurricane Andrew
Hurricane Andrew was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in mid-to-late August 1992, the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida until Hurricane Irma surpassed it 25 years later. It was the strongest in decades and the costliest hurricane to make landfall anywhere in the United States until it was surpassed by Katrina in 2005. Andrew caused major damage in the Bahamas and Louisiana, but the greatest impact was felt in South Florida, where the storm made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, with sustained wind speeds as high as 165 mph (270 km/h). Passing directly through the city of Homestead in Dade County (now known as Miami-Dade County), Andrew stripped many homes of all but their concrete foundations. In total, Andrew destroyed more than 63,500 houses, damaged more than 124,000 others, caused $27.3 billion in damage, and left 65 people dead.
Biscayne National Park
Like many locations in southern Florida, Biscayne National Park is affected by hurricanes every few years. Most storms require temporary closings and occasional repairs to park facilities. A direct hit by a powerful hurricane can produce severe consequences, primarily by its impact on human interventions in the environment rather than on the natural environment of the park, which is well-adapted to these events. Significant hurricanes to strike Biscayne include storms in 1835 and 1904, the 1906 Florida Keys hurricane, the 1926 Miami hurricane, the 1929 Bahamas hurricane, the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, the 1935 Yankee hurricane, the 1941 Florida hurricane, the 1945 Southeast Florida hurricane, the 1948 Miami hurricane, Hurricane King in 1950, Hurricane Donna in 1960. Hurricane Cleo in 1964, and Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The park can be affected by wave action from more distant tropical storms such as 2012's Hurricane Sandy, which damaged facilities on Elliott Key.
On August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew came ashore just south of Miami, passing directly across Biscayne National Park with maximum sustained winds of , with gusts to . The storm surge was up to above mean sea level. It was a compact Category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. Biscayne Bay was affected by bottom scouring and turbidity and with damage to its fringes of mangrove forest. Leakage from damaged boats and marinas polluted the bay with fuel, with discharges continuing for nearly a month after the hurricane's passage. A commemorative plaque was placed at the Dante Fascell Visitor Center in 2002 to commemorate the human and environmental cost of Andrew, and to celebrate the area's recovery from the storm's effects. The inscription reads in part: