1992 Hurricane

Hurricane Andrew decimated large portions of FPL's system that had taken nearly 65 years to build. Here, an FPL crew member from St. Augustine dismantles tangled distribution facilities in a south Dade County neighborhood.

"The damage was far worse than I expected. Many of our employees suffered heavy personal losses, yet they are responding to the crisis in a superb manner."

James Broadhead, chairman and CEO, 1992, after touring South Dade by helicopter.

"I can sympathize with these people. I know exactly what they're going through."

- Clive Campbell, FPL distribution technician, who worked 16-hour shifts after Hurricane Andrew demolished his home in Homestead.

An FPL crew from Daytona Beach assesses the damage to a trailer park in Princeton, one of the hardest hit areas of south Dade County.

Sophisticated work methods and equipment, as well as strict safety practices, enabled crews to work at a much faster pace than employees who labored to restore power after the hurricane of 1926. In a little over a month, thanks to the tireless efforts of these workers, restoration was completed to all homes and businesses capable of receiving power.

From the air, miles of sheared rooftops dotted tree-blocked roads. Shopping centers and businesses were left mangled. Emergency officials estimated that the storm caused as much as $20 billion in damage, the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history.

Just as the hurricane of 1926 wreaked havoc on local boatyards, the fury of Andrew is evident in this marina, where boats were tossed on top of each another.

"Considered one of the U.S.A.'s best-run companies, Florida's biggest utility is working its way through Andrew's rubble in admirable fashion."

USA Today

"When I call my family, they want to know what it's like down there. I tell them I just can't explain it and do it justice. It looks like a war zone. I talked to a lady today and asked her how she was doing. All she could say was, `At least I'm alive.' "

- FPL Foreman Bill Thompson, Flagler Service Center, Daytona Beach, who participated in the 1992 storm restoration effort.

A month after Andrew, repair crews had strung 1,700 miles of wire – the distance from Miami to Denver. In addition, crews had replaced 18,700 wood distribution poles, 1,900 concrete transmission poles and 11,000 electrical transformers.