Hurricane Andrew was a compact, fast-moving storm that
remains one of the strongest and costliest on record. Andrew caused about $26.5
billion in damages, making it the second costliest hurricane on record. Only
Hurricane Katrina caused more damage. And only three storms — Katrina in
2005, Camille in 1969 and an unnamed Florida Keys hurricane in 1935 — were more
intense.
It was 25 years ago today that this Category 5 storm
slammed into South Florida.
It had been a relatively quiet hurricane season when the
first signs of the storm emerged off the west coast of Africa. A tropical
depression formed and moved westward, drifting midway between Bermuda and
Puerto Rico. Initially, forecasters did not expect the lingering depression
would amount to much. But then the system encountered favorable environmental
conditions that caused rapid strengthening, transforming it into a hurricane.
Hurricane Andrew was moving through the Atlantic Ocean,
over the Bahamas, and on a course for South Florida. Forecasters predicted it
would make landfall in Fort Lauderdale. But on August 24, Andrew's eye hit
shore near Florida City, 25 miles south of downtown Miami, at 4:52 a.m.,
descending with wind gusts up to 168 miles per hour.
But Andrew brought together neighbors. And the Postal
Service delivered. The sight of a Letter Carrier delivering the mail in
South Dade County provided a sense of normalcy and hope to those whose lives
forever had changed.
Then Miami County Line Annex
Manager Enrique (Rick) Suarez (above, left) --- and today, Miami
Postmaster --- assisted a displaced South Dade County resident with a
Change of Address form.
"Hurricane Andrew solidified
the value of the Postal Service early in my career as a Station
Manager," Suarez said. "It really showed me what the Postal
Service means to communities."
Customers whose homes had been destroyed were able to pick up their mail at a designated Post Office in South Dade County.
***
When I first arrived in South Miami as the new
District Manager, I was really surprised and sad after seeing all the
damages that Hurricane Andrew did to South Miami and Homestead. Driving down to
Homestead, I saw trees without leaves and branches, it looks like a war
zone. The trees were standing like toothpicks and no leaves or branches. I
felt very sad for the people of South Miami and Homestead.
I was instructed by
Headquarters to get the mail delivery back as soon as possible. I received
much assistance from postal family all over the country in helping our
fellow postal employees. The most important
necessity during the recovery was to have water and electricity back again to
the community.
We were receiving water
from the Tampa area on a weekly basis for our postal employees. Homestead was
completely destroyed by the hurricane. Houses and street signs were demolished.
However, the people of Homestead were strong and eager to have their community
back again.
We have a group of
managers doing strictly recovery work to bring back postal service to the
community. We appreciated the help of the military personnel.
In addition to Postal
Officials, Police Departments and local organizations
provided assistance and cooperation. We had make-shift Post Offices
during the reconstruction of buildings and houses. We had temporary mobile
homes to provide mail service to the people of Homestead.
I am very proud of our
postal employees for their efforts, sacrifices and genuine support to help the
community. We came together as one family and got things done without one
single complaint from anyone of our postal family.
Thank You,
Leo Tudela
Former South Florida
District Manager
***
In August 1992, Training
Technician Russell Lind was a Tour 3 Outgoing Mail Processing Clerk at the Fort
Lauderdale Processing and Distribution Center.
He lived in a Fort
Lauderdale condo on the beach. The National Hurricane Center had
predicted that Andrew would make landfall in Broward County so he
evacuated --- and stayed with friends in the Country Walk development
in South Dade County.
His friends had prepared
their home with hurricane shutters and had stocked up with supplies. But
no one was prepared for an unwelcomed guest named Andrew.
"Andrew sounded
like a freight train. I heard two big cracks, and then the roof flew off
and the water came pouring in," Lind said. "Then the windows blew out
of the house."
Lind and
his friends ran and sheltered under a nearby bridge while watching the Country
Walk neighborhood fall apart. After the storm, he found his truck pinned
under a tree. So he walked home to Fort Lauderdale. Took him five days.
"Nothing was
recognizable so I kept asking people 'Where is I-95?'” he said. "I slept
on the side of the road."
Ironically, his Country
Walk friends came to live with him for the next nine months while they rebuilt
their home.
The following year,
Lind sold his beachfront home.
“No more water for me,”
he said.
