Free Republic

Andrew. Around these parts, no need to put "hurricane" in front of it. We know the name refers to the most destructive storm ever to hit the Gold Coast's tri-county area, wreaking most of its wrath on Miami-Dade County. It happened 15 years ago today. Millions of people throughout South Florida still vividly remember the horrific early morning hours of Aug. 24, 1992. Compact and destructive as a buzz-saw, Andrew slashed ashore near Homestead with sustained winds of 165 mph, and gusts topping 200 mph. Roofs were torn from the sturdiest homes. Buildings were shredded. Neighborhoods were reduced to rubble....

Shoddy Repairs Prevented Her From Connecting Electricity Volunteers Helped End 15 Years Of Cold Showers *** An elderly woman who had been living without power in her home due to hurricane damage was finally seeing the light Friday night, when power to her home was restored. (snip) .....she's been living without power to her house since August 24, 1992. No heat when the winter chill settled over South Florida. No air conditioning when the mercury climbed into the 90's and the humidity clung to 100% . Not one hot shower at home in nearly 15 years. Every morning started with...

CBS) CULTLER BAY, Fla. An elderly woman who had been living without power in her home due to hurricane damage was finally seeing the light Friday night when power to her home was restored. What makes her story amazing is that the hurricane which put her in the dark was Andrew, which hit Florida almost 15 years ago; she's been living without power to her house since Aug. 24, 1992. She had no heat when a winter chill settled over South Florida. There was no air conditioning when the mercury climbed into the 90's and the humidity clung to 100%....

No Katrina Breifing from DoD today. Press photos of breifings by JCS Gen Myers and the CINC Army Corps of Engineers. Transcripts of todays breifing is available at Defenselink and has copyright restrictions on it. That transcript is here - http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/2005/tr20050906-secdef3862.html

http://www.tampatrib.com/News/MGBLRHDPWXD.html Posted without comment...but, please, feel free to chime in with your own.

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. --Betty Babitzke and her husband were so frustrated after Hurricane Andrew slammed into Florida in 1992 that they pulled out a map and started looking for a safer part of the state in which to spend their retirement. They settled on Punta Gorda. Then, two weeks ago, came Hurricane Charley, second only to Andrew on the list of Florida's most destructive hurricanes. That is because life after Charley is much better than life after Andrew. The Federal Emergency Management Agency and state and local authorities are being praised for their response to Charley, something that did not...

The 13th Anniversary of Andrew, the Cat. 5 Hurricane that Brought Devastation to South Florida and The Most Costly Natural Disaster to Hit the US Excerpt: Hurricane History-NOAA:Hurricane Andrew 1992 The most destructive United States hurricane of record started modestly as a tropical wave that emerged from the west coast of Africa on August 14. The wave spawned a tropical depression on August 16, which became Tropical Storm Andrew the next day. Further development was slow, as the west-northwestward moving Andrew encountered an unfavorable upper-level trough. Indeed, the storm almost dissipated on August 20 due to vertical wind shear. By...

After Hurricane Andrew left thousands homeless in August 1992, the first President Bush's administration was roundly criticized for moving too slowly to deliver food, water and troops. The son apparently did not want to repeat history. Even before Hurricane Charley struck, the second Bush White House was poised to act. Hours after Hurricane Charley made landfall, federal aid was flowing. As emergency crews and National Guard troops swooped in to help residents across the state, Floridians were showered with promises, assurances and lists of toll-free numbers they could call for help, according to a story in the LA Times. "While...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Once Hurricane Charley is gone from Florida, it's a safe bet President Bush will sweep in. Natural calamities present political opportunity, and many crucial electoral votes are in the path of Charley's howling winds. President Bush declared a major disaster in Florida on Friday, ordering federal aid for the recovery effort just two hours after Charley hit the mainland. Officials are loath to ascribe campaign motives to emergency response, but politics infuses everything this close to an election. No more so than in the state that handed Bush the presidency. "This provides both opportunities and real dangers...

It's hard to believe that an entire decade has passed since Hurricane Andrew swept through South Florida on Aug. 24, 1992. For those of us who shared the experience, it was a night never to be forgotten. After waiting out the storm in our ninth-floor newsroom, I remember waiting for the first assessments of damage from our reporters and photographers deployed in various locations in South Florida to cover the storm.