Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2014

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Hurricanes are part of life for anyone who
lives on the East Coast. I’ve documented Hugo (see page 18); Bob,
which made landfall in Rhode Island on Aug. 19,1991; George,
who struck Key West on Sept. 25, 1998; and Andrew. In addition to
documenting hurricanes in years past, the state of Florida hired our
company to publish programs for its hurricane conferences because we documented
urricane Andrew, which slammed into Florida early in the morning of Aug. 24, 1992.
This is my story.
Only three years after Hugo caused major destruction in South Carolina, on the
night of Aug. 23, 1992, the airports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale had already shut
down, and I was on the last flight intoWest Palm Beach. Was I crazy?
Before I left Charleston, I called a friend from my college days in Gainesville,
Florida, to secure a private aircraft the day after Andrew was projected to strike. I
wanted to make sure I would be able to capture aerial photos of Andrew’s destruction.
After landing in West Palm, I made my way south to Lantana, where my brother Matt
was living at the time.
I vividly remember watching Bryan Norcross on Miami’s NBC affiliate. By early
morning Aug. 24, Hurricane Andrew had chased Norcross into a closet inside the station.
He was describing to anyone who still had power about the destruction being caused by
Andrew. Some people were able to reach Norcross in his little closet and tell him about
their experiences dealing with Andrew. Now a hurricane specialist withThe Weather
Channel, he soon became known as the voice of Hurricane Andrew.
The wind was roaring and the driving rain was pelting the windows and pounding
the roof of my brother’s house, but I could hardly wait to get out there and drive south.
Occasionally I would pull myself away from the television and wake up Matt. “Get ready,
man. We’re going to have to leave as soon as Andrew’s winds subside,” I told him, and he
thought I was out of my mind. Here it was 4 a.m. and his brother’s adrenaline was rush-
ing and he was talking some crazy nonsense.
Having lived through Hugo, I knew what was ahead.
At first light, I got Matt up and out. We were considerably north of landfall, but
the rain was still driving hard, and visibility was limited at best. As we traveled south on
Interstate 95, one thing was obvious: most people in South Florida were still holed up in
the safety of their homes – if they still had homes.
But I was determined to explore the damage Hurricane Andrew had caused, and
my brother knew it. One of the first places we drove to was Coconut Grove. The
marine had been hit badly. Boats had been tossed around the docks like pickup sticks.
I was snapping pictures of everything in sight. The luxury condos that surrounded the
marina looked like someone had tossed hand grenades through the windows. Debris
was everywhere. At this point, everyone was on their own because the National Guard
would not show up for some time.
The destruction Andrew caused reminded me of the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo
here in the Lowcountry.
If you’d like to followmy adventure of documenting Hurricane Andrew, which includes
photos, join us at If you would like to secure a
digital version of our Hurricane Hugo publication, visit .
Until next issue,
— B i l l M a c c h i o
Publisher
9 | |
Vol. 4, issue 5
September/october 2014
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Chasing Hurricane Andrew
Publisher’s Note