BATTLEFRONT: MIAMI

L.A. Times Archives

Sept. 3, 1992 12 AM PT

Ten days after Hurricane Andrew hit, Miami still looks like a city under siege. Here is a sample of the relief efforts under way:

TENT CITY SETUP

Residents began trickling into tent cities Wednesday, After registering at a Red Cross tent, families are assigned a tent, given a bag of toiletries and escorted to their cots by military troops. A total of 56,000 people are expected to eventually be housed in 2,800 tents.

Civilian quarters: Tents are positioned in blocks of 10. Each tent is 12 feet from the next in rows of five. Each 512-square-foot tent holds 14 cots.

Military supplies

98 helicopters

1,300 vehicles

638,600 ready-to-eat meals

15,500 portable radios

30 portable kitchens

100,000 blankets

38,500 cots

BY THE NUMBERS

Deaths: 17 in Florida / 4 in Louisiana / 1 in the Bahamas

Damage: Estimates range from $15 billion to $30 billion

Homeless: Estimates range from 180,000 to 250,000

Homes destroyed: 63,000*

Americans killed in hurricanes in the last 100 years: 17,000

SURVIVAL TACTICS

Make-Do Medicine: Makeshift field hospitals report that scores of people are suffering from badly infected mosquito bites, stomach disease and diarrhea

The supply lines: Navy ships have brought more than 112 tons of food. The ships also carried carpenters, electricians, lumber, water tanks, welding equipment and a 120-member construction battalion. The military is using the Port of Miami and Miami International Airport as way-stations

Troops: Military forces are still flowing into southern Florida. More than 12,500 troops are already there and a total of nearly 20,000 are to be sent.

Aerial attack on mosquitoes: Military planes are making daily flights to spray insecticide over the area to kill swarms of mosquitoes that plague survivors and spread disease.

Environmental damage: The National Park Service has dispatched 150 people to survey damage at parks in the Everglades and Key Biscayne. Coastal waters are so littered with debris that authorities asked private sailors to stay in port

Traffic chaos: Stoplights are coming to life as power is restored. But roadways remain chaotic.

PICKING UP THE TAB

President Bush has promised that the federal government will pick up 100% of the eligible costs of helping southern Florida rise from the wreckage. Here’s what that means:

+ Federal help applies mostly to rebuilding public property, such as police and fire stations. Repair costs for most private properties are not covered.

+ The federal funds would kick in after Florida had contributed an amount equal to $10 for each person in the disaster area at the time the hurricane hit.

+ Congress will have to appropriate whatever money is needed when lawmakers return from their August recess. However, the government will have to borrow the money it needs.

+ Federal declaration of south Florida as a disaster area qualifies victims for temporary housing, food, money, medical supplies and a variety of other services.

HOW TO HELP

American Red Cross

Disaster Relief Fund

P.O. Box 37243

Washington, D.C. 20013

Catholic Charities USA

Disaster Response

1731 King St., Suite 200

Alexandria, Va. 22314

World Vision

Box 1131

Pasadena, Calif. 91131