The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 9

THE PALM BEACH POST WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 1992 9A ft. DADE COUNTY The Toll Of Andrew DEAD: 14 INJURED: 800 to 1 ,000 HOMELESS: 50,000 IN SHELTERS: nearly 35,000 DAMAGES: up to $20 billion ARRESTS FOR LOOTING CURFEW VIOLATIONS: more than 200 FLORIDA'S TURNPIKE The turnpike, 1-95 and other highways were jammed as thousands rushed to search for food, water and other supplies. The congestion prevented relief supplies from reaching hard-hit areas. MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT The airport reopened at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday after being closed for damage repairs and cleanup of debris.

Key Biscayne spared full fury of storrri Damage minor to posh homes; after some residents ride it out By JOHN FERNANDEZ Palm Beach Post Staff Writer KEY BISCAYNE Residents returned Tuesday jo the posh homes and popular beaches of this affluent island to find a scene far less frightening than tfie massive destruction on the mainland south of Miami "You don't know how luckv vou are." Metro-Dade aMBinaiiHBMBaaH Turrpjk -I 'I'm 74-year-old woman says Edna Hicks has lived in Miami since 1924 and survived every hurricane that has come her way. "It's the worst thing I've ever seen," she said. She secured her storm shutters, refused her daughter's pleadings to drive to Orlando to be with her and got out the towels and mops. "I thought I'd be mopping up the water as it blew in the door. I didn't think about it blowing the door in." Early Tuesday, her brother from Hialeah bought tar paper and roofing nails, and by early afternoon the temporary protection was well under way at her house.

"For a lady of almost 75, I'm bushed," she said. Children cheer FPL trucks Along U.S. 1 from South Miami to Florida City, every car dealership, convenience store, burger joint, chicken shop, boat dealer, record store, strip mall drug store and supermarket is mangled. Homes are without power, water stopped flowing when electricity no longer was available to drive the pumps. Children sitting along the highway in Goulds cheered and waved when the FPL trucks rolled by about 3:30 p.m.

on the way south. 112 D-zMIAMI MIAMI 997 INTERNATIQNAL 17 ULnwi 1 4 I L. 'AIRPORT' ri ii 836 Orange Bi-V 1 1 FLAGLER ST. Bowl tV "Vl LITTLE I S.W22dST.. SjArt El SOUTH MIAMI The hospital reported crowded conditions, and pregnant women were giving birth in the halls.

Officials throughout the area appealed for medical supplies. police Maj. Madeline Pear- 'NObOdV KnGvV University of Miami son TnpsHav tnlH a miHrtlp. aged couple who rode out Where the eVO i i ri 1 SOUTH MIAMI E3 me siorm in ineir nrsi-noor condominium and lived to WOUIQ N. Kendall rnrnMirr Coconut Grove 7 Atlantic GROVeV Ocean KENDALL A'iTl Biscavne Bay KEY Mlaml-Dado Community College G3 so we just chanced survey the damage the day after.

The island's artery to Miami, Crandon Boulevard, South Parrot Jungle I i 1 The Falls KEY BISCAYNE 'Am I going to Virtually no tree, no shopping center, no home was undamaged. Among the areas hardest hit was the Sunrise Condominium complex just east of U.S. 1, across from The Falls shopping center. Cleanup was virtually impossible. "I've made 27 trips, and it looks like I haven't touched a thing," said David Worontzoff who rode out the storm with his girlfriend and her two children at her home in West Kendall.

As the storm whistled around their home, 14-year-old Sean asked Worontzoff: "Am I going to die?" had to be cleared of huge uprooted trees before au Tamiami Airport COUNTRY WALK 1AA 1 CORAL GABLES Returning residents found their expensive homes and condominiums were stripped of roofs, walls and doors. More than 5,000 people lined up for distribution of water. I METRO ZOO CUTLER ri RIDGE Monkey Jungle El METROZOO Officials said the attraction could be closed for six months. At least 300 rare tropical birds were dead or missing from an exhibit. PRINCETON furhjke REDLAND CUTLER RIDGE Residents here and thousands of others throughout South Dade combed the wreckage of their homes searching for belongings.

HOMESTEAD HOMESTEAD iAIR FORCE BASE HOMESTEAD Police Chief Curt Ivy said that his overworked officers could have arrested 400 looters Monday night. Destruction at Homestead Air Force Base was so extensive its future is in doubt. 2 12 miles FLORIDA CITY Ninety percent of its residences were destroyed. Crop damage in the farming area could reach $500 million. SW 344th SL Turkey Point thorities let residents return Tuesday afternoon.

Many of the key's plush homes were damaged by falling trees and electrical poles. The majority, however, had only roof tiles blown off. High-rise condominiums, luxury hotels and expensive boats didn't fare as well. The tall buildings sustained significant wind aijd water damage, primarily in the higher floors. Sunken boats, many of them expensive yachts, littered maw-nas.

The key's picturesque beaches were badly erodeo. Paul and Ann Feehan said they had nowhere else lo go and didn't want to deal with the inconvenience'. going to a shelter. So they rode out the storm in thejr ground floor home at Key Colony "It got noisy as hell as the worst of the storm west by," Paul Feehan said. "1 His wife does not hesitate to admit that "stupidity" made them stay.

"Nobody knew where the eye would cross, so we just chanced it," Ann said. "Everything was bounciilg as it came through, but our home was not badjy damaged or flooded. We made it through." About a dozen people in six single-family rode out the storm, Pearson said. Andy Atrio, 19, his father and a family friend stayed behind in their plushr three-story home, complete with a rooftop sun deck. i At one point during Andrew's pre-dawn fury, Atrjo strapped a rope around his waist and went on the rofcf to nail down a badly shaking deck.

He said wouldn't do it again. "I was really scared," said Atrio. "We were lucUy the hurricane didn't come any closer." l': 4 Animals deadj dazed, missing at Metrozoo I FLORIDA CITY i Nuclear Power Plant VIVIEN E. RIPPEStaff Artist Store provides service with a smile The Rite-Aid store at Quail Roost Plaza in Cutler Ridge was an oasis for the thirsty, hungry and sick one of the few businesses open in southwest Dade. And not many people knew about it, so lines were manageable and the staff exceptionally accommodating.

They would carry out your bags if you needed. They didn't charge a penny more than everyday prices, and if someone needed a prescription refilled and couldn't pay for it the medicine was free. The 12 workers were from other Florida Rite-Aid stores, caring employees who volunteered to come to Dade County when company officials called Sunday. "We pull together in a crisis," said Lee Leon, a pharmacy supervisor for the region. Fast-moving items included film, soft drinks, beer, cigarettes, canned food and toilet paper.

West Palm National Guard unit pitches in National Guard troops moved out early Tuesday morning to clear western suburbs and recover victims. Among the first to leave was the West Palm Beach unit Company 1st Battalion, 124 Infantry. Their job was complicated by downed power lines, which dangled across intersections and carpeted many streets. In most parts of Cutler Ridge, debris on streets made driving hazardous as many major thoroughfares, such as 107th Avenue, remained blocked by trees, poles and dangerous electrical transformers. As the day wore on and more troops moved into south Dade, Lt.

General John Conaway, chief of the National Guard, arrived by helicopter from Washington. Conaway thanked troops for their help. "I appreciate what you're doing, helping your neighbors," he told the West Palm Beach regiment. Sroken fire hydrant provides some relief A few residents in Richmond Heights, a neighborhood just north of Cutler Ridge, were lucky enough to live near a broken fire hydrant, which coursed water onto the streets. Residents lined up with buckets and coolers, and a few children splashed in the water for relief from the heat.

LANNIS WATERSStaff Photographer Residents of Key Biscayne were allowed back on the island at noon Tuesday after the roads were made passable to cars. A bicyclist surveys damage. Reuters MIAMI Metrozoo was besieged with offers help Tuesday after people saw televised pictures 4f dazed elephants and other animals wandering amijl the devastation wrought by Hurricane Andrew. And while relief operations focused on people left homeless, authorities also were checking Hurricanfe Andrew's impact on the Everglades, home to sucji threatened species as the Florida panther. Zoo officials, who appealed for hay and trucks" to help round up stray animals, said they were swampeh with offers.

Television pictures from a helicoptejr showed fences torn down, flattened palm trees anjl animals wandering free within the zoo's grounds. Officials said the aviary was destroyed and morie than 300 rare tropical birds were dead or missing. Some birds had been placed inside public restroonts for safekeeping during the killer storm. One zoo official said Metrozoo would be closed for at least six months, while others were quoted 4s wondering if it would ever reopen. Parrot Jungle, a popular tourist attraction northeast of Metrozoo, reported that its pink flamingos, shown in the opening credits of the television shofr Miami Vice, survived the hurricane.

But an alligattjr had escaped from its compound and was roaming free within the park, a spokesman said. In Fort Lauderdale, Ocean World officials blameU Andrew for the death of a dolphin "Splash was a favorite at the park, and we're goirfjg to miss her very much," said Ocean World veterinarian Dr. Scott Gearhart. The 16-year-old female recently was treated fdr pneumonia, and the stress of the storm was too mucji for her, Gearhart said. i The Miami Seaquarium on Biscayne Bay reported its collection of sea lions, dolphins and killer whalfjs were fine.

"They are eating, which is a sign of good health," 6 spokesman said. But the 100-mile-long, 50-mile-wide Florida Evef-glades "took a big hit," said marine scientist Da)i Diresta at the University of Miami. National Guard troops Tuesday turned back peopSe who tried to visit the Everglades, but reporters whb overflew the wetlands saw that Andrew had flattened trees and palms. were simply looking for trouble. "We're not thieves; we're hungry people," Pardo said.

"Just because it looks like a war zone doesn't mean they have to act like it," he said of law enforcement officers who were carrying M-16s and pistols, looking for looters. Even price gougers are welcome Mary Beth and Gary Macy gave a tour Tuesday of what was left of their home, joking about the new skylights and wiping away tears when they showed the nursery. They had bathed in the lake across the street Tuesday morning. For dinner, they were eating whatever was in the refrigerator that hadn't spoiled. The furniture was on cinder blocks; the carpet had been pulled up.

Mary Beth's wedding dress hung from the rafters to dry. The couple, married five years, had spent the hours of the storm in the hall, holding each other and praying while glass shattered and the attic door blew out. "We need ice. We need water and somebody to come by and say, 'Hey, are you Mary Beth said. Even price gougers would be welcome.

$10 for ice? "I'd buy it," she said. Chief justice joins her parents Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Rosemary Barkett couldn't persuade her parents to leave their Homestead home as Hurricane Andrew approached the coastline. So she went to them. After two days without water or electricity, her elderly parents agreed to travel with her to West Palm Beach for a few days. "Fortunately, we're OK, although I have to say it was one of the most frightening experiences I've been through," Barkett said.

"Compared to what I've seen, we were very lucky." The storm blew off a porch and some windows at the family home in a 10-acre avocado grove. But 10 people, including the chief justice, her 93-year-old father and 87-year-old mother, were safe inside the one-story, concrete block structure. Although her parents were reluctant to leave, two days without water or electricity began to take its toll. "Psychologically, it's a real strange thing," Barkett said. "All of the trees and everything had come down.

You look outdoors and everything that was familiar is not familiar anymore." 'We're not thieves; we're hungry people' Some Homestead residents without water, electricity or any way to keep food cold complained that no one, especially not the federal government, cared that they had lost everything but their lives. "The only reason they brought the National Guard in was to protect the businesses," said one tenant, whose wife had been taken to jail when she entered a vacant store looking for food for her child. "Federal aid to me is coming in and helping people with their homes. There's 50,000 people here who don't have homes, and they don't care." Jim Pardo, a Miami resident in Homestead to help his mother recover from the hurricane, said police and National Guard troops were not there to help. They Lynn and her husband, Buddy, wouldn't let any of their three daughters come back to the trailer Tuesday to see what was left.

They already had seen a friend's child who was screaming and shaking after she saw what Hurricane Andrew did to her world. So Lynn and Buddy sorted through the furniture left standing on a platform that once was a three-bedroom trailer. "We'll never own another mobile home as long as we live," Lynn said. Looters attract a crowd The six people who rode bicycles to a Florida City convenience store Tuesday morning were conspicuous in their uniformity. All wore new camouflage pants, crisp white T-shirts and dark baseball caps.

They looked like a community patrol. They were a looting patrol. The six were quickly joined by five others, dressed ordinarily, and they all climbed through the broken front window and began lifting out cases of beer. Before they could ride off with the goods, though, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent appeared, pulled out his pistol and ordered them to drop the loot and wait to be arrested. FDLE heads for the Taco Bell The FDLE's command center is in the shell of what used to be Taco Bell.

Reported by Staff Writers Beth McLeod, Candy Hatcher, Alexandra Clough, Mary Ellen Klas and the Associated Press. Little left of family's mobile home Lynn Pevey's 9-year-old daughter has had stomach aches and headaches since Sunday, when they evacuated their trailer in Florida City and headed for Hialeah. Dramatic' destruction leaves Homestead air base's future in doubt-l personnel from the Caribbean and Latin America. Occupants of the base were dispersed to shelters and hotels before the storm and have been told not to return until ordered. Air Force officials set up a toll-free telephone number to inform base personnel when they should return.

The number is 1-800-232-9916. The storm ripped roofs off half of the base buildings, blew out 90 percent of the windows, destroyed two maintenance hangers and the air control tower, and made the fuel storage area unusable, Hall said. The two destroyed aircraft were F-16 fighters, each valued at $14 million. They were among six planes being repaired in hangers when the storm struck. "All the other aircraft were evacuated to Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, Jacksonville International Warner-Robins Air Force Base in Georgia or Maxwell Air Force Base in Florida," Hall said.

Although the runway has been cleared of debris, Hall said, it is unusable. All the runway lights are out and it is unclear if the tower is standing. There is only one working telephone line out of the base. Elsewhere, the Key West Naval Air station lost power while being whipped the base will be permanently closed, he said. Homestead was not included on a list of bases recommended for closure last year by a special commission.

Another commission is meeting, but no date has been set for its recommendations. The Defense Department did not have an estimate of the cost of the damage at Homestead, headquarters for the 31st Fighter Wing, part of Air Combat Command; and a base for the 482nd Fighter Wing, part of the Air Force Reserve. It also is home of the Inter-American Air Forces Academy, which trains military air with 40-mph winds, but emergency gener ators kept the base operating. There wai little damage and the airfield is considered fully operational. The planes based ther were evacuated to other Naval fields in Florida and Georgia.

The base's personnel returned to work Tuesday. A small naval security station jusj south of Homestead received major darw age to its operations building and most ol its electronic antenna system. There was no damage at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, but its planes als were dispersed elsewhere in Florida a4 Georgia. By LARRY LIPMAN Palm Beach Post Washington Bureau WASHINGTON The future of Homestead Air Force Base, which dodged the list of military bases closed in the post-Cold War era, is unclear in the wake of Hurricane Andrew. Two aircraft were destroyed and all operations and maintenance facilities were wiped out.

Of the 4,600 service per- sonnel and their families who lived there, only the wing commander and a staff of 17 I rode out the storm. None was injured. I "The destruction at Homestead is very dramatic," Pentagon spokesman Bob Hall said Tuesday. It is too early to tell whether i'3 'i 1.