Even though it's been 25 years, the memories of Hurricane Andrew are still painful.
“We were like together inside our walk in closet praying to God to get it over."
Andrew brought devastation for Maria Lacayo.
“We lost everything, and everything was flooded,” she says
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The storm flattened South Miami-Dade County from Kendall through Homestead. The devastation was beyond comprehension.
Lacayo said the Red Cross helped her in the aftermath.
“[It] inspired me to become a volunteer with the Red Cross, which I'm very happy to do for eight years now,” she says.
From inspiration to communication, Meteorologist Bryan Norcross was on the airwaves 25 years ago, guiding terrified Miamians through the storm.
“I'm grateful for the people they still come up to me, and still want to talk about it, and tell me their stories,” Norcross says.
For FPL's Irene White, it was an opportunity for her crew to be a light in the darkness, as more than one million lost power.
“As soon as we closed in a switch and the power was on, you could hear some of them yelling 'lights!'” White says.
The 25 years since brought opportunities to make improvements to FPL’s system.
“We knew that we needed to make the grid stronger,” White said.
They are the lessons and stories that are endless, as we reflect on the 25th anniversary of a storm that many of us won't soon forget, one the likes of which we hope to never see again.