The most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. Hurricane Andrew was a category 4 hurricane on the
Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale when it struck
Homestead, Florida in
1992. When it struck, Andrew had a central pressure of 922mb with maximum sustained winds of 145
mph and gusts up to 175mph. After finishing with
Florida, it proceeded up the
Gulf of Mexico to strike
Louisiana as a
tropical storm, where it dumped 10
inches of
rain causing severe
flooding.
Hurricane Andrew resulted in 43 deaths, and up to one-quarter million people were left homeless. 25,524 homes were destroyed and 101,241 were damaged. Altogether damages totaled more than $30 billion.