homestead fla. sprawl suburb florida southern tip nearly wipe flat one hurricane 25 years ago residents hope rebuild strong enough withstand another hurricane irma churn toward florida friday many people homestead prepare hunker house substantially fortify sweep aside hurricane andrew come ashore 1992. barrel ashore wind 165 miles 265 km per hour andrew rip roof house strip palm tree bare category hurricane responsible 61 deaths 26.5 billion property damage make one expensive storm u.s. history tough new build code approve storm require structure build withstand wind speed least 111 miles per hour so-called hurricane impact windows common must make shatterproof glass cheap materials like particle board long use roof even construction crane common sight downtown miami must able withstand wind 145 miles per hour one know irma category storm top sustain wind 155 miles hour late friday strike hard make project landfall south florida sunday fortify roof measure secure build persuade people like joy mcrae homestead include major agricultural area stay put rather join hordes try escape safe grind north florida turnpike interstate 95. convince go bad say mcrae 56 list feature concrete house build 2007 include shatterproof windows aluminum hurricane shutter though mcrae worry possible flood many new neighborhoods homestead build low-lying areas say expect repeat 1992 andrew tear roof house flatten entire neighborhoods nearby get everything batten get food ready ride say south florida sturdy 25 years ago also present big target however population grow one-third since andrew 2.7 million high-rise condos sprout downtown miami potato field transform subdivisions outlying areas like homestead homestead population double since 1992 67,000 accord u.s. census bureau growth could lead devastation insurer swiss one estimate say irma would cause 50 billion 60 billion damage take identical path andrew concern longtime residents say worry less prospect property damage neighbor might behave chaos schoolteacher michael littman 51 recall hear gunshots night andrew blow neighborhood police struggle restore order several days say add plan keep cellphone wallet smith wesson pistol close time around see anarchy littman say shock see happen strip away thin veneer civilization hammer andrew florida town 's rebuild test irma