It was 20 years ago, at 5 a.m., when Hurricane Andrew hit southern Florida.

It caused $30 billion in damage, and it left 15 dead and more than 250,000 homeless.

Those are the numbers from Hurricane Andrew. But numbers can't do justice to the human toll of the storm.

This week, with help from our friends at WLRN/Miami Herald News, we look back at Andrew, and what it means for us today.

WLRN reporter Rick Stone was actually working here at WUSF on August 24, 1992 -- the day Hurricane Andrew hit.

He immediately travelled to south Florida and embedded himself in a relief mission trying to help storm victims. In our first segment, he remembers that trip.

In segment two, WLRN's Kenny Malone speaks to one south Florida veterinarian who's still counting his losses.

In our third segment, we discuss how Andrew was the costliest storm in American history, and how that led to some major changes to the state's building codes.

WUSF’s Carson Cooper speaks with Dr. Tim Reinhold, senior VP for research and chief engineer for the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety in Tampa.

Finally, we wrap up this special remembrance of Hurricane Andrew with a story from WLRN's Kenny Malone about the storm, a poet and his battered old radio.

And that's Florida Matters for this week. Special thanks to WLRN/Miami Herald News for sharing some of their stories of the storm. You can find their special coverage of Andrew's 20th anniversary here.