Hurricane Andrew is the most expensive natural disaster in the history of the United States and the third most intensive hurricane of the 20th century. First, it hit the northwestern area of the Bahamas as a category 4 storm with over 138 mph (120 knots) winds that extended over 30 miles and a storm surge of over 23 ft. Then, it hit the southeast coast of Florida on August 24, 1992 with over 145 mph sustained winds that gusted up to 175 mph, a storm surge of 14-15 ft. above tide, and a storm tide of 16.9 ft. It encompassed a 30-mile area, moved due west over land and crossed the southern peninsula of Florida in just four hours. Several people were killed both in the US and the Bahamas, as many as 250,000 people were left homeless, 60,000 homes were destroyed, and the property damage could reach more than $20 billion in Dade County, Florida, alone (NOAA 1993; Rappaport and Sheets 1993).
Once it moved across Florida, Andrew hit a sparsely populated portion of Louisiana with winds still around 120 mph, however, it weakened rapidly after it hit land and was downgraded to a tropical storm after just 10 hours. Unlike Hugo, Andrew then combined with a frontal system over the mid-Atlantic states and produced several, isolated incidences of severe weather over the southeastern US, including tornadoes and local flooding in several states. Even now, the effects of Hurricane Andrew are still being felt, especially in Florida, and the estimates for damage and reconstruction are still rising (NOAA 1993; Rappaport and Sheets 1993).