Louisiana Hurricane Andrew

damage f3 tornado spawned andrew in laplace

after hitting florida, andrew moved across gulf of mexico , made landfall 23 mi (37 km) west-southwest of morgan city in south-central louisiana; @ landfall, maximum sustained winds 115 mph (185 km/h). highest sustained wind speed observed 96 mph (154 km/h), while wind gust strong 120 mph (190 km/h) recorded; both measurements taken @ fire station in berwick. moved ashore, hurricane produced storm tides of @ least 8 ft (2.4 m) above normal, causing flooding along coast vermilion bay lake borgne. off louisiana, group of 6 fishermen alabama drowned. heavy rains accompanied storm s passage through state, peaking @ 11.02 in (280 mm) in robert. river flooding reported, tangipahoa river in robert cresting @ 3.8 ft (1.2 m) above flood stage. before making landfall, andrew spawned f3 tornado in laplace, killed 2 people , injuring 32. tornado on ground 10 minutes, during damaged or destroyed 163 structures, leaving 60 families homeless. collectively, 14 tornadoes reported in parishes of ascension, iberville, pointe coupee, , avoyelles, in baton rouge.

along louisiana coastline, impact largely resembled of category 2 hurricane. damage heaviest in st. mary parish, 32 mi (51 km) east of andrew made landfall. twenty-six schools impacted, damage totaling $2.6 million. berwick high school, sheltering 2,000 people, deroofed during storm. generally, single-family homes fared well, losing roofing shingles, though others suffered severe damage after large trees fell on them. in cypremort point state park, several mobile homes destroyed. houses in berwick, morgan city, , patterson suffered major damage. throughout parish, 1,367 dwellings destroyed, 2,028 were severely damaged, , 4,770 others impacted minor degree. property damage alone in st. mary parish reached approximately $150 million. iberia parish among severely impacted parishes. 2 schools collectively sheltering 3,600 people in jeanerette , new iberia lost roofs. 1 death occurred in parish due electrocution. total of 407 residences demolished, 2,528 others extensively damaged, , 3,526 others inflicted minor damage. overall, parish suffered $125 million in property damage, while additional $200 million in damage inflicted on sugar crops.

across state, hurricane damaged 23,000 homes , destroyed 985 homes , 1,951 mobile homes; private property damage estimated @ $1 billion. high winds destroyed large areas of sugar , soybean crops, estimated @ $289 million in damage. strong winds left @ least 230,000 people without electricity. during storm s passage, upwelling occurred in atchafalaya basin , bayou lafourche, killing 187 million freshwater fish. damage fishing industry estimated @ $266 million. overall, losses in state of louisiana reached approximately $1.56 billion. total of 17 deaths occurred in louisiana, 8 directly , 9 from indirect causes. @ least 75 injuries reported.