MIAMI | Hurricane Andrew was 1992, and it remains one of the clearest reminders that hurricane preparedness is not a seasonal slogan. NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information says Andrew made its first U.S. landfall early on August 24, 1992, along the eastern coast of the Florida Peninsula. In Dade County alone, NOAA says the storm damaged or destroyed 125,000 homes and left at least 160,000 people homeless.
Those numbers still matter because Andrew changed how many people thought about coastal risk. A storm is not only wind speed on a chart. It is roofs, windows, power lines, medical needs, pets, insurance papers, gas stations, grocery shelves and the ability to communicate when familiar systems fail.
NOAA retrospectives describe Andrew as a life-changing event for families and communities. The lesson is not fear. It is preparation before the cone appears. Coastal families should know evacuation zones, insurance coverage, shelter options, medication needs and how they would manage several days without power.
Building codes are another Andrew legacy. Stronger construction standards cannot make communities invincible, but they can reduce damage. The same is true for shutters, reinforced garage doors, trimmed trees and documented belongings. Preparedness is a series of small decisions made before urgency arrives.
The most dangerous hurricane plan is the one that exists only in a person’s head. Families should write it down, share it and update it. Andrew is history, but the lesson is current: the storm you prepare for calmly is the storm you face with more options.
Additional Reporting By: NOAA/NCEI Hurricane Andrew record; NOAA retrospective; National Hurricane Center Andrew archive