EDITORIAL: The day that changed the face of South Florida | Editorial

Aug. 23--Twenty five years after the Big One hit South Florida, the region is still feeling the effects of the changes caused by Hurricane Andrew.

The Category 5 monster, which slammed into southern Miami-Dade County in the early morning hours of Aug. 24, 1992, caused a rewrite of the state's building codes, making them the toughest in the nation.

Whether those strong codes last is another story. This year, the state Legislature passed a law that, among other things, required fewer votes for the Florida Building Commission to make changes to the building regulations. Some feel that will weaken the codes.

Craig Fugate, who was head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency at the time of Andrew, is disturbed by the Legislature's actions.

"I don't think builders are inherently evil people, but you've got to look at what their business model is," Fugate told USA Today. "The quicker they get to sell a home with the least amount of cost and the least time delays increases the money they make."

Andrew caused changes in South Florida's demographics, with many residents moving from devastated Miami-Dade into Broward County and further north. According to research from the Department of Economics and the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida, the population in Homestead declined 8,355 in the year after Andrew. Florida City lost 1,978 residents. Both towns were devastated by Andrew. South Dade lost more than 66,000 residents in one year.

Andrew caused dramatic changes in the insurance industry as well, as insurance claims payout for Andrew totaled $15.5 billion. More than 63,000 houses were destroyed. Andrew spurred the growth of the catastrophe modeling industry.

Hurricane Andrew also caused dramatic technological changes, shifting the way hurricanes are tracked and predicted.

But maybe the biggest change brought on by Andrew can't be shown with numbers. Andrew and its 150 miles-per-hour winds caused a change in attitudes -- in the way South Floridians view hurricanes.

Twenty five years ago, most South Floridians had no idea what a hurricane felt like, since the previous direct hit to the area was in 1950. Many homes in South Florida didn't have hurricane shutters of any kind at the time Andrew slammed into Florida City and Homestead. There were folks who thought duct tape would be enough to withstand a storm. People had hurricane parties, and many were truly disappointed if we just got a bit of rain instead of the real thing.

Andrew changed all of that.

"It's like an air bomb went off," then-Gov. Lawton Chiles was quoted in the Miami Herald after he toured the devastated area by helicopter.

"Complete devastation. . . Homestead has got to be rebuilt."

Over the years, Homestead was rebuilt -- and South Floridians gained a lot more respect for hurricanes.

Today, most homeowners not only have installed shutters, but many have hurricane-proof windows. They have hurricane-resistant garage doors.

Television stations cover the formation of storms off the coast of Africa -- thousands of miles from South Florida -- as if a monstrous invasion could take place.

As the storm treks across the Atlantic and gains intensity, there are constant updates about wind speed and barometer readings and what path the storm might take in a week or more.

Homeowners nowadays make checklists before a storm approaches, documenting their property. They know what is and isn't included in their insurance policy. If they've done their homework, they know if their roof is in good shape.

But 25 years after Andrew, there is concern that complacency could be setting in. We haven't had a direct hit since Hurricane Wilma in 2005, and our luck has held up through quite a few close calls as hurricanes have swept past the area. South Floridians will still empty the grocery store shelves of water and bread and other necessities if a storm closes in, but you have to wonder if everyone is truly prepared.

Just remember that Andrew was actually the first named storm in 1992, and that year was a very light one as far as hurricanes go.

But Andrew reminded all of us that it only takes one.

Editorials are the opinion of the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board and written by one of its members or a designee. The Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Rosemary O'Hara, Elana Simms, Gary Stein, Andy Reid and Editor-in-Chief Howard Saltz.

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