Many lessons learned in the 30 years since Hurricane Andrew's destruction
MIAMI – At press conference featuring local, state and federal emergency management managers, the memories of Hurricane Andrew ran deep.
Miami-Dade County's mayor said it best: "It is really hard to imagine it has been 30 Years ago."
As a reminder, Kevin Guthrie, the Director of the State of Florida Division of Emergency Management, put the 30-year anniversary in perspective, saying, "To this day Hurricane Andrew remains the most destructive hurricane to Impact the State of Florida."
The group gathered to emphasize that much has changed since those day days in late August 1992.
According to L. Gov. Jeanette Nunez, "Our dedication to ensuring that this level of destruction will never happen again I think has made our state a national leader in the field of emergency management."
In the days after Hurricane Andrew hit, local, state and federal response was not coordinated, slow. That will never happen again, according to the group of elected officials and emergency managers.
"Hurricane Andrew taught emergency managers the need to collaborate and communicate with local, state and federal partners," said Guthrie.
Another major change brought by Andrew was South Florida building codes were completely revamped based on studies about compromised garage doors, roof structures, basically how to hold houses together, according to Gracia Szczech, FEMA Region IV director.
Homes built today in the state of Florida are far stronger than pre-Andrew.
According to Daniella Levine Cava, "It was our county builders, engineers, local experts that lead Miami-Dade to a new era of building safety."