30 Years After Hurricane Andrew, America Still Hasn’t Learned Its Lesson

When Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida on Aug. 24, 1992, it became — at the time — the costliest and most damaging hurricane to ever hit the U.S. It destroyed 63,000 homes, stripping many down to their concrete foundations, and damaged 124,000 others.

It left 65 people dead and spawned at least 28 tornadoes from Georgia to Mississippi. In the years since, we have come to see Andrew for what it really was: a harbinger of things to come.

Climate change has turned hurricane season into a recurring national nightmare. The intensity, frequency, and duration of North Atlantic hurricanes have increased dramatically since the 1980s.

Our changing climate continues to add more fuel for hurricanes in the form of increasing ocean heat content, and the growth along our coasts has expanded the targets for these storms.

Andrew’s record as America’s costliest storm has already been surpassed by six subsequent hurricanes -- Katrina, Harvey, Maria, Sandy, Ida, and Irma -- with doubtless more to come.