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Hurricane Rips Miami Area, Aims at Gulf StatesAt Least 10 Killed; City Under CurfewBy William Booth and Mary JordanWashington Post Staff Writers Tuesday, August 25, 1992; Page A01 © The Washington Post MIAMI, AUG. 24 -- Hurricane Andrew sought its next target today after scoring a direct hit on Miami before dawn, leaving at least 10 people dead and police preparing for possible looting in a darkened city with no electricity. After crossing the southern tip of Florida, Andrew was regaining strength tonight in the Gulf of Mexico and was expected to strike land again somewhere between Pascagoula, Miss., and Vermilion Bay, La., perhaps as early as Tuesday night, according to forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables. Police spokesmen reported 10 deaths attributable to Andrew, but they offered few details. Authorities reported at least three deaths after the storm had passed through the outer Bahamas islands Sunday. The storm, with sustained winds of 135 mph and an eight-foot tidal surge, came ashore at Homestead, devastating the 3,600-acre Homestead Air Force Base on the southern tip of Florida between Everglades National Park and Miami. It also tore apart the lush, subtropical real estate of South Florida. Most of the air base's 2,000 buildings were "severely damaged or unusable," according to Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Gannon in Washington. All of Homestead's 70 aircraft were flown to other bases in the Southeast, and virtually all of the facility's 5,000 active-duty airmen were evacuated, Gannon said. The base is home to two F-16 fighter wings and its aircraft support anti-drug operations run by the U.S. Customs Service. According to sketchy reports on the base's only working phone line, the base took a virtual direct hit, with severe damage to hangars, communications, buildings, offices, family housing and other facilities, Gannon said. No injuries were reported among the 18 Air Force personnel who had remained behind, he said. The towns of Homestead and Florida City about 20 miles south of Miami also were devastated. Without electricity, the only illumination was from flashing lights of hundreds of military and emergency vehicles. The Navy sent bulldozers, backhoes and flatbed trucks to begin what was expected to be a long process of digging out. "Entire mobile home parks are gone," Chief Petty Officer Vernon Syme said. "A lot of roofs were pulled off." Throughout the region, Andrew yanked aging mahogany and oak trees up by their roots, leaving behind holes big enough to swallow compact cars. At intersections, tangles of power lines hung from poles, and traffic lights dangled, useless but deadly to drivers as they swayed at windshield level. Tonight, more than 1 million customers were without electricity, and Florida Power & Light Co. officials said it could take more than a week to restore power completely. Much of the damage in Miami appeared moderate -- smashed windows, shattered roofs and carports and uprooted trees. The shredded shrubbery and downed trees made driving through the city streets akin to hacking through dense jungle. Many side streets remained impassable because of giant clumps of greenery wrapped in power lines. "This is going to employ nurserymen far into the 21st century," said Art Lowell, a retired accountant, as he lugged branches off the street in Miami Beach. Fernando Hernandez, a Coral Gables cardiologist, said he had "a tree in my bathroom. This area is distinctive for its vegetation and trees. We've been constructing around them, saving them, and now it's all gone. It will be like any other recently built development. It's a shame." Throughout the day, police cruisers filled the streets of Miami and surrounding Dade County, and arrests were made for looting. Downtown, the first several hundred of an expected 1,500 National Guard troops began gathering at blockades around shopping arcades. On Miami Beach, police armed with shotguns stood in front of shops that sell athletic shoes, liquor and compact disks. The shops were closed. City of Miami authorities declared a curfew from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., and police cordoned many areas. Until late today, Miami Beach was were declared off-limits, leaving some residents stranded in a sort of limbo -- trapped between a citywide curfew and a prohibition against returning home. Residents were told to boil water to assure its safety, but many homes were without water, because pumping water requires electricity. Phone communication was sporadic. But because this is South Florida, land of the cellular phone, many made do. President Bush toured South Miami neighborhoods this afternoon and said federal officials "will do everything we can to help." Bush said he would send federal troops "to provide any emergency services," if asked by state authorities. "This is a matter of great national concern," Bush said at South Miami Senior High School, converted into a shelter. "When you have families hurting, I think it's important they know the president cares," he said. Bush was widely criticized in 1989 for what critics said was a slow federal response after Hurricane Hugo struck the Carolinas, causing billions of dollars in damage. Today, he flew to Opa-Locka airport northwest of here from a campaign trip in Connecticut instead of returning to Washington as planned. After the storm raged through most of the morning, streets were filled this afternoon with people aiming video cameras at the devastation. Soon, joggers and beautiful people on rollerblades, who had stayed through the hurricane, appeared on Miami Beach. In Little Havana, the Las Criollas bar served warm beer to parched patrons, and the first cups of Cuban coffee were being prepared with makeshift gas stoves at Los Merengues cafeteria. Across town, three male streakers were seen on U.S. Route 1, a major thoroughfare where people were stealing highway markers and stop signs. The eye of the hurricane passed over Biscayne Bay near Homestead about 5 a.m. One of the hardest-hit neighborhoods was Coral Gables in south Miami, home of the National Hurricane Center, which recorded peak gusts at 164 mph. The roaring winds blew the radar off the center's roof and shattered even shuttered windows. "I've lived here all my life and seen a lot of storms on TV, and I've never seen anything like this," said Israel Perez-Siam, a bus dealer, in nearby Pinecrust. For years, Floridians and outsiders have predicted that Miami would be overwhelmed by the "Big One" as punishment for building condominiums and office towers on barrier islands and swamp land. Miami Herald columnist Carl Hiaasen, an ardent environmentalist who contends that the city is overbuilt, has said there is nothing wrong with Miami that a leveling hurricane would not cure. Bob Sheets, director of the hurricane center, credited Miami's strict building codes with saving the city from greater destruction. For most Miami residents, Andrew was their first encounter with a hurricane. "It was the most terrifying moment of my life," said Theresa Sandalson, 68, a Miami Beach resident who remained on the island despite orders to evacuate. "I wanted to scream, the wind was so loud. I didn't have anywhere to go." After the electricity failed, Sandalson huddled in the bathroom of her effeciency apartment, craddling a battery-powered radio. Like many frightened residents, she called a local television station that was simultaneously broadcasting on radio. Listeners told tales of terror, of being trapped in closets, listening to the wind beat on the door, hearing the crack and pop of windows breaking. "I'm really, really scared," one caller said. "We know," the announcer said. "We're all a little scared." From causeways, sailboats could be seen slammed against seawalls, and one was tucked beneath pilings outside the Miami Herald newspaper building on Biscayne Bay. Several large pleasure cruisers were half-submerged behind mansions on Star and Hibiscus islands. Coast Guard officials reported responding to 70 distress calls during the storm. Four Cubans were plucked from a raft hours before the hurricane hit, and Coast Guard spokesmen described them as very lucky. Miami International Airport remained closed for the night to all but planes bringing essential supplies. Thousands were stranded inside the terminal, which was running on generator power. Fort Lauderdale Airport resumed accepting flights. Schools were closed, and many companies told employees to stay home. While shops and restaurants remained shuttered, hospitals pleaded for doctors and other employees to report for work. Some nurses had been working as long as 36 hours, officials said. Hospital spokesmen said they were treating hurricane victims, mostly for cuts from flying glass. Shelters remained open to house the crush of tourists and residents unable to return home or find a hotel room. Throughout South Florida, hotels were closed or filled. Staff writer John Lancaster in Washington and special correspondent Anne Day in Miami contributed to this report.
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