The hurricane rushed through, killed 110 and left and aftermath of destruction across Europe. While rescue teams and firemen are still about the clear up the debris, this natural disaster reminds me of my first holiday in the U.S.
It was in August 1992 with my first girlfriend that we just had happily landed in Miami strolling around two days when we realized that there was only one topic on local TV. A hurricane that was about to strike the coast in 24 to 48 hours, a hurricane whose name was “Andrew”.
Initially, we did not pay too much attention and thought: “Wow, cool, so we’ll have a real hurricane to see during our holidays.” However, when basically all shops started to construct wooden shutters in front of their windows and the authorities advised – if possible – to evacuate northwards, we became aware that this would not be a joke.
Hence, we took the advise and followed the assigned evacuation routes to the north, in the midst of a caravan of plate rolling to a safe place. Around 300 km away we tried to find a motel or hotel. No chance - all full. The following experience will always be a cornerstone in my understanding why the U.S. has made it from zero to superpower in 250 years. Its civic sense is unparalleled. We were hosted in a sport-gym of a little and in the next morning got a fantastic breakfast from the church-community: ham & eggs with coffee with the undertones of great genuine solidarity.
Coming back to Miami a week later, I was faced with the biggest destruction I have ever seen in my life. A place called Homestead south-west of Miami had been hit hardest, a place with mainly light wooden houses which were not able to resist the brute force of the tropical storm. The scene in front of us looked like war with all the damage and military and national guard taking over control. According to Wikipedia, Hurricane Andrew is the second worst hurricane which has ever hit the United States.
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