SWFL resident remembers how Hurricane Andrew changed Florida

CAPE CORAL, Fla — Thirty years in the past, Hurricane Andrew devastated Miami-Dade County. The class 5 storm made landfall close to Homestead, crossing the state and exiting Florida between Florida Bay and Everglades Metropolis, right here in southwest Florida. Collier County noticed almost 30 million {dollars} in harm and almost 5,000 properties with important harm.

That’s when then 13-year-old Michael Harloff was residing within the Clewiston space in Hendry County. His household evacuated to Manatee County forward of Hurricane Andrew.

“Right here we live in a cell residence in the course of nowhere.,” stated Harloff. “My dad was a farmer on the market in Satan’s Backyard and right here comes this huge storm rolling in. And we have been going to be within the outer bands, and we lived in a cell residence, so we stated let’s get out of right here, let’s evacuate.”

Harloff remembers coming again residence to seek out his household’s residence spared. One thing many Floridians couldn’t say.

“There was not a lot clear up across the Clewiston space,” stated Harloff. “However being in Clewiston, I had a whole lot of associates that have been from Miami. A variety of classmates that had household down there and so they had some devastation. They skilled the devastation.”

Harloff, who’s now in real-estate, says Hurricane Andrew modified the constructing codes within the state.

“What got here out of it, you realize stronger wind codes and constructing requirements,” stated Harloff. “Similar to some other devastation, we discovered from it and like anything.”

Studying is precisely what occurred in Florida after Andrew.

“Issues modified dramatically, when it got here to emergency administration, security, preparedness, however the constructing codes are the largest factor,” stated Erik Salna at Florida Worldwide College’s Wall of Wind. “To the place at the moment the place now we have the strongest constructing codes within the nation.”

These improved constructing codes have been seen firsthand by Nationwide Climate Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Robert Molleda in the course of the landfall of class 4 Hurricane Irma in 2017.

“Actually outdoors of some small pockets of right here and there a whole lot of that space, Marco Island and Naples, faired fairly properly from a structural perspective,” stated Molleda. “And I feel that may be a testomony to these robust constructing codes.”

Whereas constructing codes have improved, Salna says there’s nonetheless room for enchancment.

“Each one greenback we ship in mitigation, saves 7 to eight {dollars} in harm or clear up,” stated Salna. “So, sure Andrew modified so many issues, however at the moment we’re doing a lot better than the place we have been 30 years in the past at the moment.”

And as we glance again on Hurricane Andrew, it was August twenty fourth when the ‘A’ named storm made landfall in 1992, an general quiet hurricane season but it surely introduced one storm with a number of the worst impacts our state has seen. With 2022 seeing the slowest begin since 1982, you will need to do not forget that it solely takes one storm to make it a devastating season, particularly as we method the climatological peak of hurricane season on September tenth.