Hurricane Andrew prompts unprecedented migration to Broward County
MIAMI — It has been 30 a long time considering that Hurricane Andrew triggered large damage in southwest Miami-Dade, prompting an unprecedented migration of residents north to Broward County.
CBS4 spoke with Chuck and Shari Heyman, whose household in southwest Miami-Dade was levelled by the Classification 5 storm on August 24 of 1992. Authorities say the storm destroyed 25,000 households and broken 101,000 houses.
The migration in the 12 months soon after Andrew would direct to the fastest 12-month progress in Broward County’s historical past. By 2001, authorities say 230,710 folks experienced moved from Miami-Dade to Broward County.
CBS4’s Peter D’Oench spoke with the Heymans, who ended up elementary college teachers and went by a harrowing ordeal inside of their house just six times just after their daughter Nicole was born.
Following the storm, they moved to a spouse and children residence and then rented an condominium in Coral Springs. Immediately after 9 months, they moved again into their residence in southwest Miami-Dade that experienced been rebuilt and lived there for 4 yrs just before transferring to Weston, the place they lived for 23 years. They ultimately retired to Boynton Beach front.
They have vivid recollections of Andrew which they explained began striking their household around 5 a.m.
Shari Heyman said, “It was most likely one particular of the scariest times of our life. We thought we may possibly get some drinking water harm and perhaps a mailbox would be knocked down. This was back in the day when there had been no hurricane shutter requirements and no storm windows. We thought we would be protected in our residence. There was a twister earlier mentioned us, and it sounded like a freight train was likely by way of out residence. We had a infant nurse with us.”
Chuck Heyman claimed, “The home windows began popping from the pressure and so we grabbed Nicole our newborn child and went into a wander-in closet. We did not understand that earlier mentioned us was a crawl area and the deal with blew off and all the insulation fell on us and our new child newborn and appropriate just after that we ran in to the garage. The garage was on the west aspect and was guarded and so we hunkered down for about 3 hours. While we ended up in there a panel for the air handler blew off and went correct past us.
“Just after we still left the garage, we saw complete interior partitions blown out. Even the studs had been sheared in half and the roof blew off. At the time the air got into the house the storm acted like a vacuum.”
They moved just after the storm.
“We just took in essence the shirts off our backs and Shari grabbed her jewelry,” he explained. “That was it. Shari did not choose nearly anything else.”
Shari Heyman stated, “We required to depart. There was no h2o. But a good deal of people today in the neighborhood insisted on staying. They had property they have been concerned about. All I cared about was our basic safety and the security of our new child little one.”
She continued, “That was the most horrible practical experience of our life. But back in that working day, the insurance policy organization, they achieved Chuck on the driveway a handful of times later and gave us funds for clothing so we could begin our life more than once more. It was just unbelievable.”
Pembroke Pines Mayor Frank Ortis instructed D’Oench that, “Just after Andrew individuals were being getting coverage payments for their households and they have been flocking to Pembroke Pines. We started out and about 6,000 folks ended up coming to Pembroke Pines each thirty day period. We ended up the third quickest increasing metropolis in the country. We went from all-around 40,000 people to 171,000 people. There was a terrific deal of vacant land out west and with I-75 it was quite accessible.”
