Avian Flu Diary

Sunday, August 24, 2008

It Doesn't Take A Pandemic . . .

# 2253

Infrared image of Andrew over Dade county

0900 UTC August 24, 1992. (566K GIF)

. . . to ruin your entire day.

This weekend is the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew, which struck Homestead Florida on August 24th, 1992.

So today, a remembrance of that disaster, and a not-so-gentle reminder that this old earth of ours can sometimes deal its inhabitants a terrible blow.

Here is how Ed Rappaport, of the National Hurricane Center (updated 10 December 1993) described the storm.

Andrew was a small and ferocious Cape Verde hurricane that wrought unprecedented economic devastation along a path through the northwestern Bahamas, the southern Florida peninsula, and south-central Louisiana.

Damage in the United States is estimated to be near 25 billion, making Andrew the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history¹. The tropical cyclone struck southern Dade County, Florida, especially hard, with violent winds and storm surges characteristic of a category 4 hurricane (see addendum on upgrade to category 5) on the Saffir/Simpson Hurricane Scale, and with a central pressure (922 mb) that is the third lowest this century for a hurricane at landfall in the United States.

In Dade County alone, the forces of Andrew resulted in 15 deaths and up to one-quarter million people left temporarily homeless. An additional 25 lives were lost in Dade County from the indirect effects of Andrew². The direct loss of life seems remarkably low considering the destruction caused by this hurricane.

Since this writing, of course, we've seen even greater damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Whether it is an earthquake, a flood, a hurricane, or a pandemic . . .those who are prepared in advance will find their survival, and even their comfort, greatly enhanced during an emergency.

If you aren't prepared for the unexpected, just click on the pictures below.

They are hard to argue with.

STORM IMAGES

(click to enlarge, but warning: Some are very large)