Highlights
Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida near Homestead as a compact Category 5 system in the early morning hours of Aug. 24, 1992. After buzz-sawing through Miami-Dade County, Andrew proceeded to hit the Louisiana Gulf Coast west of New Orleans. At the time, it was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States, leaving $26.5 billion in damage in 1992 dollars. The storm was blamed for directly or indirectly killing 65 people, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Initially, Andrew was designated as a Category 4 hurricane. But 10 years later, after a reanalysis, the National Hurricane Center in Miami-Dade County upgraded the system to a Category 5 with sustained...
Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida near Homestead as a compact Category 5 system in the early morning hours of Aug. 24, 1992. After buzz-sawing through Miami-Dade County, Andrew proceeded to hit the Louisiana Gulf Coast west of New Orleans. At the time, it was the costliest hurricane to hit the United States, leaving $26.5 billion in damage in 1992 dollars. The storm was blamed for directly or indirectly killing 65 people, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Initially, Andrew was designated as a Category 4 hurricane. But 10 years later, after a reanalysis, the National Hurricane Center in Miami-Dade County upgraded the system to a Category 5 with sustained winds of 165 mph and gusts of more than 200 mph. Because of its shocking destruction, leaving neighborhoods looking like they had been hit by a bomb, South Florida in 1994 upgraded its building codes, and those became the toughest in the state. In Broward and Palm Beach counties, homes must now be able to withstand 140 mph winds; in Miami-Dade, it's 146 mph. Andrew also has been held up by emergency managers as a prime example of why residents need to be prepared for any tropical system lurking in their vicinity. The storm intensified so rapidly and was so unpredictable that the first hurricane warning for South Florida was posted only 20 hours before it made landfall. In the days after Andrew hit, the hurricane made more news when Kate Hale, then Miami-Dade County's emergency management director, grew frustrated because of a slow federal response to provide food, water and other assistance for storm victims. "Where the hell is the cavalry?" she cried to the media. A similar call was made by New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin after Hurricane Katrina hit his city in August 2005.
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Carl Hiaasen talks well-placed sea urchins, paparazzi and Florida
Jacket CopyCarl Hiaasen (pictured, center) signs books after speaking at Track 16 Gallery in Bergamot Station on Tuesday night, when he graciously answered my questions in front of a full room. It was part of the new Live Talks Los Angeles...... -
Florida governor's debate: Rick Scott vs. Alex Sink
Top of the TicketRick Scott vs Alex Sink in Florida governor's debate on CNN. Full transcript.... -
PASSINGS
Ted Lapidus Designer was known for '60s unisex fashions Ted Lapidus, 79, the French fashion designer who helped redefine chic with the 1960s unisex look, died Monday at a hospital in Cannes, on the French Riviera. He reportedly had been suffering from...Tags: United Kingdom, Isle of Wight (Isle of Wight, Virginia), Defense, Knight-Ridder Inc, Brooklyn (New York City)
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Why FEMA Was Missing in Action
Times Staff WritersWASHINGTON — While the federal government has spent much of the last quarter-century trimming the safety nets it provides Americans, it has dramatically expanded its promise of protection in one area — disaster. Since the 1970s, Washington...Tags: Charity, Tropical Storms, George H.W. Bush, Air Transportation Industry, Business
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Insurers learn to pinpoint risks -- and avoid them
Times Staff WriterNEWARK, CALIF. — Hemant Shah is in the business of creating catastrophes. The computers at Shah's Silicon Valley company, Risk Management Solutions Inc., contain mathematical models of every U.S. disaster from the 1812 earthquake that toppled...Tags: Layoffs and Downsizing, Science and Technology, Homes, Columbia University, Metal and Mineral
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There's flashy and there's friendly
Lonely PlanetWhenever I find myself in a place such as Miami, with palm trees, white-sand beaches, sun-glinting water, blue sky and puffy clouds, I look for a certain kind of establishment that I have come to think of — in my own way — as a classique...Tags: Education, Death, Nature, Family, Los Angeles International Airport
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"Refugee"
Can we hide from the "refugee" fuss? The Rev. Jesse Jackson says the word is racist. Rep. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) huffs that it's almost a hate crime. President Bush declares that Hurricane Katrina's dislocated aren't refugees but Americans. But...Tags: Crimes, Politics, Disasters, Death, Meteorological Disasters
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NEWS ANALYSIS: Bush Tries for Damage Control at a Critical Point
Los Angeles Times Staff WriterIt took him most of a week to get there, but President Bush accomplished several goals Friday on his tour of the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He brought comfort to some of the uncounted homeless. He lent...Tags: Laura Bush, John F. Kennedy, Entertainment, FEMA, Terrorism
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Category 5 warning
If the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season ended tomorrow, we would still call it extraordinary. The year's first two hurricanes, Dean and Felix, both reached Category 5 classification. That's a record, one among many that these two storms helped establish. To...Tags: Disasters, Science and Technology, Meteorological Disasters, Global Change, Weather
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Key Biscayne beach sitting great in top 10 for fourth straight year
South Florida Sun-SentinelIf your idea of a perfect beach involves a waiter to fetch your drinks and the amenities of a high-rise hotel, then the beach at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park may not be for you. Because all you can see from this 1 1/4-mile-long pristine beach at...Tags: Key Biscayne, Outer Banks, Atlantic Ocean, Hatteras
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Could another Hurricane Andrew surprise us?
If Hurricane Andrew were to threaten South Florida today, residents would get at least 36 hours advance warning — about 16 more than in 1992, thanks to improved tracking and projecting of a storm's forward motion. But officials at the National...
Tags: Fort Lauderdale, Tropical Weather, Tropical Storms, Broward County, Meteorological Disasters
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The CT Claims Tally For Irene: $235M; Forecast For 2012 Is Quieter
Eight months later, the tally from Tropical Storm Irene is in: As of May 1, insurance companies paid a total of $235 million on more than 60,000 claims in Connecticut related to damage from Irene, according to the state Insurance Department. That's big...
Tags: Tropical Weather, Jane Lubchenco, Weather Reports, Tropical Storms, National Hurricane Center
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Original site for Hurricane Andrew (1992) topic gallery.
