I was a student at UM at the time of Hurricane Andrew. I happened to be in Boston at the time of the storm and was scheduled to fly back to MIA on the morning of August 24, 1992. My flight was cancelled and I couldn't fly back to MIA until August 31 or September 1, 1992. Anyone who doesn't think that traveling is a problem after a hurricane has never been through a hurricane.
I fortunately lived north of Kendall, but helped with cleanup several days after in just the Kendall area.
About a week later, I was in Honestead and it literally looked like pictures I've seen of Hiroshima after the bomb. If you've ever seen that kind of devastation in person you see the impact. I mean houses and businesses were literally blown up, miles and miles were just leveled. Flattened. I always wondered how it was that hundreds or even thousands weren't killed.
My buddy picked me up at MIA and drove west to get to the Turnpike south to show me the devastation. Every house was flattened, every tree was down, planes at MIA were upside down on the runways, there was no electricity in most places for weeks, in short, it was a mess. I had never seen anything like that, haven't seen it since, and hope to never again see it. The difference is I have a wife and kids I need to protect. If you can't comprehend how dangerous these storms can be, I hope you are never in one.
