Monday marks 34 years since Hurricane Andrew slammed into South Florida as a Category 5 storm with wind gusts of up to 175 mph.

Andrew roared ashore in the early morning hours of August 24th, 1992 with winds so powerful, the gauges used to measure it were destroyed.

At the time, it was the most damaging hurricane to ever hit the United States and it remains one of the top five most powerful to strike the country.

The storm claimed 44 lives and around 250,000 people were left temporarily homeless.

Over 25,000 homes were destroyed and another 100,000-plus were damaged.

Andrew’s 922mb pressure is the 4th lowest on record, and the storm surge was nearly 17 feet.

The hurricane led to several changes including better building codes for stronger homes, enhanced wind mitigation techniques and a better storm response.