Hurricane Andrew
| Category 5 hurricane ( SSHWS ) | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Emergence | August 16, 1992 | |
| resolution | August 28, 1992 | |
|
Peak wind speed |
|
|
| Lowest air pressure | 922 mbar ( hPa ; 27.2 inHg ) | |
| dead | 26 direct, 39 indirect | |
| Property damage | $ 26.5 billion (1992) | |
|
Affected areas |
Bahamas ; Southern Florida , Louisiana, and other areas in the southern United States | |
| Season overview: 1992 Atlantic hurricane season |
||
Hurricane Andrew was a hurricane that devastated the US state of Florida on August 24, 1992 . Andrew is considered to be the hurricane that caused the greatest destruction in the USA and the Caribbean in the 20th century.
history
Andrew formed as a tropical wave over the west coast of Africa on August 14, 1992 . The depression that developed from it was upgraded to a tropical cyclone on the night of August 16-17 and was named Andrew. Andrew crossed the Atlantic relatively slowly, but as he passed over Puerto Rico and the Bahamas on August 21 , the storm increased in intensity and speed. Although considered a small cyclone (about 300 km in diameter), Andrew was classified in Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale on August 22nd .
In the early morning of August 24, 1992, Hurricane Andrew tore away 63,000 homes between Florida City and Miami . 26 people were killed in the storm and 250,000 were left homeless. Of the total of around $ 26.5 billion in property damage, insurance companies had to pay about $ 7.3 billion. In terms of damage, this cyclone was only replaced by Hurricane Katrina , which caused damage of more than 100 billion US dollars. It has often been pointed out that this extent of damage may be a harbinger of the dreaded global climate change triggered by the greenhouse effect. In addition, the National Hurricane Center also points out the fact that hurricane activity in the Atlantic is characterized by changing periods of varying levels of activity, each of which can span several decades of low or high activity.
Andrew - his fastest eddies raged at up to 150 km / h - was by no means the strongest storm in recent years. It mainly caused so much damage because when he went ashore he came across a region with many highly insured assets. Shopping arcades, senior camps and new housing estates lined his catchment area in Florida.
Between 1980 and 1988, insurance values in the coastal areas of the United States increased by 70 percent. More than 44 million US citizens live in hurricane-threatened areas - but only one in five has ever experienced such a hurricane. This led to false frugality: wooden houses without foundations and "mobile homes" made of aluminum were put on the coast, building regulations were disregarded.
| rank | hurricane | season | Air pressure (in mbar ) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labor day | 1935 | 892 |
| 2 | Camille | 1969 | 900 |
| 3 | Irma | 2017 | 914 |
| 4th | Katrina | 2005 | 920 |
| 5 | Andrew | 1992 | 922 |
| 6th | Indianola | 1886 | 925 |
| 7th | Florida Keys | 1919 | 927 |
| 8th | Okeechobee | 1928 | 929 |
| 9 | Miami | 1926 | 930 |
| 10 | donna | 1960 | 932 |
| Source: HURDAT, Hurricane Research Division | |||
In addition, between 1970 and 1987 North Americans were spoiled with an unusually short period of storms - only a single hurricane with winds above 175 km / h had swept the east coast of the United States. The lull in the storm made the people moving to the sea forget that between 1947 and 1969 no fewer than 13 such storms had struck the east coast.
See also
Web links
- ^ National Hurricane Center: Atlantic hurricane best track (Hurdat) ( English ) Hurricane Research Division. Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research. April 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- ↑ National Hurricane Center: Continental United States Hurricanes (Detailed Description) ( English ) United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research. February 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2016.