Hurricane Andrew devastated South Florida 28 years ago

Hurricane Andrew became South Florida’s most devastating hurricane after it hit the Homestead area, south of Miami, 28 years ago Monday.

Andrew took many by surprise as it struck south Miami-Dade County in the hours before dawn, leveling tens of thousands of homes.

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It was a Category 5 storm at landfall, and only the fourth to happen since 1900.

In all, 15 deaths were directly related to Andrew and another 28 indirectly related to the hurricane moving over South Florida.

Hurricane Andrew intensified to Category 5 status in less than 36 hours, with peak winds of 175 mph.

Many had less than a day to get ready and evacuate.

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As Andrew moved over Homestead, its winds were strong enough to peel paint from the buildings, flip and pile cars, and carry debris as far as a mile.

The devastation storm also left 160,000 homeless.

Andrew was also the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history, later surpassed by Hurricane Katrina.

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Extreme damage motivated a drive for more accurate forecasts and building codes adopted tougher standards to withstand hurricane-force winds.

The devastation motivated Florida and the world to understand hurricanes better and develop numerous ways to get real-time storm observations and more accurate forecasts.

Cox Media Group