Video: 'Hurricane Andrew 1992 Landfall'

(Monday, August 24, 1992, 5:05 a.m. EDT) — Hurricane Andrew, a very powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana, smashed into Florida south of Miami today with sustained winds of 145 mph.

In just Florida alone, Andrew killed 44 people and left a record $25 billion in damage.

It was the strongest landfalling hurricane in decades and the costliest hurricane to make landfall anywhere in the United States until it was surpassed by Katrina in 2005.

Video: 'Hurricane Andrew: As It Happened'

Passing directly through the city of Homestead in Dade County (now known as Miami-Dade County), stripped many homes of all but their concrete foundations.

It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida regarding structures damaged or destroyed and was the costliest in financial terms until Hurricane Irma surpassed it 25 years later.

Additionally, Andrew is one of only four hurricanes to make landfall in the United States as a Category 5, alongside the 1935 Labor Day hurricane, 1969’s Camille, and 2018’s Michael.

Video: 'Hurricane ANDREW (High Quality) - Miami-Dade County, Florida - August 23-24, 1992'

Andrew, which began as a tropical depression over the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Aug. 16, 1992, also caused major damage in the Bahamas and Louisiana, but the greatest impact was felt in South Florida, where the storm made landfall as a Category 5 hurricane, with 1-minute sustained wind speeds as high as 165 mph and a gust as high as 174 mph.

In total, Andrew destroyed more than 63,500 houses, damaged more than 124,000 others, caused $27.3 billion in damage, and left 65 people dead.

Andrew would become extratropical by Aug. 28, and merged with a frontal system over the southern Appalachian Mountains on Aug. 29.