Hurricane Andrew: Remembering the Devastation 30 Years Later

More than 40 people lost their lives and thousands of families were left homeless after Hurricane Andrew swept through South Florida

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On the morning of August 24, 1992, residents of South Florida never could have imagined that Hurricane Andrew would change their lives forever.

With sustained winds of 165 miles per hour and destructive power never before seen in our area, Hurricane Andrew hit Miami-Dade County as a Category 5 hurricane exactly 30 years ago.

ANDREW: 30 YEARS LATER

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Hurricane Andrew 30 Years Later: Storm of a Lifetime Left Lasting Imprint

A total of 44 people lost their lives in Florida that day. Some 82,000 businesses and 150,000 homes were destroyed or damaged, as Andrew's devastation left losses valued at over $25 billion.

An estimated 250,000 people were left homeless by the hurricane, and about 100,000 residents left South Florida.

The impact of Hurricane Andrew sparked changes in legislature and taught South Floridians to be better prepared for future disasters. Thirty years later, the storm's impact is still felt by many.

1992 Documentary
Photo Archive
AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File
Jesus Cruz, 7, sleeps on a cot at a Red Cross shelter in Homestead, Fla., Aug. 29, 1992. His family had saved their money for years to buy a home in nearby Florida City only 3 months ago but they lost everything they had when Hurricane Andrew devastated the area last Monday. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
AP Photo/John Gaps III, File
Singer Paul Simon hugs a young boy while visiting the tent city in Homestead, Florida, Sept. 17, 1992. Simon is in the stricken area to initiate a mobile medical program to provide free health care to young victims of Hurricane Andrew. (AP Photo/John Gaps III)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Joan Wallach, left, and her daughter, Brenda, leave the Royal Palm Trailer Park in Homestead, Fla., where they lived, with suitcases they found in the debris from the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew, Monday, Aug. 24, 1992. Andrew came ashore at Homestead with winds of 160 miles per hour. (AP Photo/Lynn Sladky)
Remnants of a trailer park following Hurricane Andrew. (Photo by �� Steve Starr/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Getty Images
MIAMI, FL – AUGUST 24: Wrecked boats sit on the sea wall 24 August 1992 at the docks at Dinner Key in the Coconut Grove area of the city after Hurricane Andrew passed through southern Florida. Andrew was the strongest hurricane to hit southern Florida in 40 years. (Photo credit should read ROBERT SULLIVAN/AFP via Getty Images)
An apartment destroyed by Hurricane Andrew overlooks a Miami waterway. (Photo by © Steve Starr/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Getty Images
Wreckage from Hurricane Andrew in Homestead in September 1992. (Jim Virga/Sun Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File
FILE- In this Sept. 1, 1992 file photo, Janny Vancedarfield sits in front of the debris that was once his house in Florida City, Fla. Vancedarfield lived in this house with six other family members before it was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in September 1992. Two decades later, Homestead and Florida City have doubled in size into a demographically different community, better prepared to deal with hurricanes. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
David Pineda: "These photos were taken by my parents who lived through Hurricane Andrew. They lived in an apartment building on SW 77th Ave. in the Kendall area across from the Wayside Baptist Church, which is shown wrecked in one of the photos."
David Pineda: "These photos were taken by my parents who lived through Hurricane Andrew. They lived in an apartment building on SW 77th Ave. in the Kendall area across from the Wayside Baptist Church, which is shown wrecked in one of the photos."
David Pineda: "These photos were taken by my parents who lived through Hurricane Andrew. They lived in an apartment building on SW 77th Ave. in the Kendall area across from the Wayside Baptist Church, which is shown wrecked in one of the photos."
Video Archive
Footage from 1992 shows the damage and destruction Hurricane Andrew left behind in South Florida 30 years ago
Footage from 1992 shows the damage and destruction Hurricane Andrew left behind in South Florida 30 years ago
Footage from 1992 shows the damage and destruction Hurricane Andrew left behind in South Florida 30 years ago
NBC 6 Remembers
NBC 6 anchor Kris Anderson talks with fellow on-air talent about their experiences during the life changing storm.
NBC 6 anchor Kris Anderson has the survival stories from some NBC 6 employees who lived through the storm.
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