Storm-surge effects from Andrew stranded this boat and tipped over short palms along the Biscayne Bay shoreline near Gables-by-the-Sea. The Miami skyline of that era is visible in the distant right, beneath hazy skies that partly obscured a thunderhead located N of Miami. Coral Gables, FL (26 Aug 1992) Looking NNE 25.652624, -80.266386 … [Read more...]
Search Results for: andrew
Fallen Bell Tower
Hurricane Andrew toppled this bell tower westward at University Christian Church (now Christ Center Church) in South Miami. Not designed to withstand the unrelenting strain of winds over 100 mph sustained for 2–3 hours, in and near the north rim of the eyewall, the rebar-reinforced concrete structure finally fell. Fortunately, the sanctuary (offscreen at left) was southeast of the tower and out … [Read more...]
Fallen Miami Radar
This was the rooftop of the building housing the National Hurricane Center at the time, in Coral Gables. Here, a 142-kt (164-mph) gust was measured just north of Andrew's eyewall, before the anemometer busted. The Miami WSR-57 radome blew away, and the dish inside toppled onto the roof with a deep, reverberating thud heard and felt seven floors below in NHC. Note the bent radio antennae also; … [Read more...]
Sailing down the Street
Andrew's storm surge left the Miami-based sailboat Paramour stranded in the street, in a tangle of busted trees. This was at the end of the "Gables-by-the-Sea" subdivision of Coral Gables, beside Biscayne Bay. Coral Gables, FL (26 Aug 1992) Looking WNW 25.6527, -80.2677 … [Read more...]
Penetrated Stick
I shot this photo of one of Andrew's smallest documented damage effects 20 years to the day after it happened. The hurricane's winds flung a roofing washer into a stick, somehow, and it lay undisturbed in a corner of a South Miami parking lot until I picked it up a few days after the storm. Along with some framed images from the event, this item has hung from a wall in every one of my residences … [Read more...]
Wall off Saga Bay Apartments
The most intense portions of Andrew's eyewall passed over this spot, stripping a poorly attached exterior wall off an apartment building in the Saga Bay development northeast of Homestead. [This was close to Burger King corporate headquarters, where Andrew's 16.9 foot storm tide is a South Florida record.] After the hurricane, some residents of this building salvaged their belongings by lowering … [Read more...]