Mortality from Hurricane Andrew

Hurricane Andrew, a category 4 storm, made landfall in South Florida on August 24, 1992, and caused extensive structural and environmental damage. The Dade County Medical Examiner Department investigated 15 deaths directly related to the storm and another 15 natural deaths indirectly related to the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of forensic sciences Vol. 41; no. 3; p. 449
Main Authors Lew, E O, Wetli, C V
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.05.1996
Subjects
Accidents - statistics & numerical data
Accidents, Traffic - statistics & numerical data
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Cause of Death
Child
Disasters
Female
Florida - epidemiology
Homicide - statistics & numerical data
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Mortality
Suicide - statistics & numerical data
Florida
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Summary:Hurricane Andrew, a category 4 storm, made landfall in South Florida on August 24, 1992, and caused extensive structural and environmental damage. The Dade County Medical Examiner Department investigated 15 deaths directly related to the storm and another 15 natural deaths indirectly related to the storm. The aftermath of the hurricane continued to create circumstances that lead to 32 accidental deaths, five suicides, and four homicides over the next six months. Traffic fatalities due to uncontrolled intersections accounted for one-third of the post-storm accidental deaths. Dyadic deaths (homicide-suicide) doubled in rate for the six months following the storm. The limited number of direct hurricane deaths is attributed to advance storm warnings, its occurrence on a weekend, the storm's passage through less populated areas of the county, and the relatively modest amount of accompanying rainfall.
ISSN:0022-1198
DOI:10.1520/JFS13933J