Hurricane Andrew: 28 Years Since Monster Category 5 Storm Devastated South Dade
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - It was 28 years ago today, August 24th, that Hurricane Andrew roared ashore and pummeled south Miami-Dade.
For many, it was a night of terror as pelting rains and whipping winds wrought destruction, leveling some neighborhoods.
Hurricane Andrew made landfall in Homestead in 1992 as a monster Category 5 storm.
The most costly natural disaster in the history of the U.S. at the time. There was terrible loss mirrored tens of thousands of times over.
They literally had to rebuild entire cities across South Florida.
Life was hard after the storm. There was no power at home or work. No phones. No stores. No jobs.
The mayor of Homestead estimated roughly half his town left. The devastated Air Force base in Homestead closed. Much of the middle class disappeared.
Those who stayed were determined to rebuild. Federal funds, grants, and a boost from insurance checks and sales tax funded a post hurricane building boom.
The community would re-emerge thanks to new residents who came for affordable housing. South Dade rode into a housing boom a decade later and then endure a foreclosure crisis.