by Tokie Laotan

Created on: September 27, 2008

For the past 16 years, the effects of Hurricane Andrew can still be felt on the coastal waters of Louisiana and Florida. It was a powerful storm that devastated the perimeters of the coastal areas of these regions. The Hurricane originated from the North Atlantic Ocean and made it's way through the Bahamas into Florida on the 24th of August.The storm then made it's was across the Gulf of Mexico, then made a landfall in Louisiana on August 26th.

One of the worse effects of the hurricane was the storm's passage through the region's coastal areas as well as the structural damage it caused along the way.The storm destroyed both the Biscayne National park and the Everglades National park, damaging several Mangrove trees. Most of the trees like the Royal palms and pine trees were severely damaged, broken or thrown off. Fresh water hydrologic and meteorologic stations were destroyed during the heavy storm.Most of the Biscayne Bay soil broke into fresh water areas losing regions for Mangrove replanting. Fuel discharge from nearby boats and service stations continually ran into the freshwater areas that were damaged by the storm for the next 27 days after the effects of the storm continued to linger.
In Louisiana, the storm surge produced significant flooding in a few populated areas in the southern part of the State.Most of the fish probably died during the first 24 hours after the storm as toxic hydrogen sulfide was released from bottom sediments.In the coastal waters, saltwater fish were killed by the storm. The exact causes of death are uncertain, but popular theories include suffocation, caused by clogging of gills by sediment, and gas-bubble disease.During the 2 weeks following the hurricane, fish deaths were caused primarily by the movement of water containing low concentrations of dissolved oxygen into previously unaffected water. Marsh balls, which were created by the marsh being piled, rolled, or otherwise deformed to create large mounds resulted in decreased surface areas.

Forty-three deaths were blamed on Andrew in the United States. It destroyed 126,000 homes, left 180,000 people homeless and wiped out 80 percent of the area's farms. With a $30 billion damage toll, it remains the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history.This changed both insurance and building regulations in the United States today, creating awareness to people living in Hurricane prone areas.

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