FIU hosts Hurricane Andrew commemoration event


FIU, together with local municipalities and government agencies, hosted the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew Commemoration. One of the costliest natural disasters in United States history, Hurricane Andrew slammed into South Florida in the early morning hours of August 24, 1992 and caused an estimated $27 billion in damage.

The event took place Aug. 24 adjacent to the FIU Wall of Wind, the only university facility in the country capable of producing category 5 hurricane winds. The Wall of Wind is part of the legacy of Hurricane Andrew, as the initial funding for the research center came from the We Will Rebuild Foundation.

To learn more about the Wall of Wind and its researchers, click here.

Speakers and guests included U.S. Congressmen Mario Diaz-Balart and David Rivera; Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center; Kate Hale, director of Miami-Dade County Emergency Management at the time of Hurricane Andrew; Robert M. Atlas, director of NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory; Elizabeth A. Zimmerman, deputy associate administrator for Response and Recovery with the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and Mark B. Rosenberg, president of FIU. Additionally, representatives from the National Weather Service Miami Office, Miami-Dade County Emergency Management and the City of Homestead will be in attendance.