Hurricane Katrina (2005)
On the evening of Thursday, August 25th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina traveled across south Florida, bisecting Miami-Dade County, producing large amounts of rain (up to 20″ in some areas) and wind gusts exceeding 90 mph. MBC, located near the coast in Coral Gables (southwest of the City of Miami), was significantly impacted.
Once the collections were assessed, the magnitude of the damage was better understood. Following are data of plants damaged or destroyed by the storm.
Destroyed | Damaged1 | Toppled2 | ||
Cycads | 0 | 34 | 67 | |
….. | Palms | 48 | 899 | 207 |
….. | Dicots | 85 | 296 | 124 |
Total |
133 | 1,229 | 398 | |
1 | This category includes plants that sustained damage to leaves/branches and/or buds and require trimming. | |||
2 | Plants in this category are either leaning or completely toppled, but they have a good chance of surviving once they are righted and staked. |
Photos of Damage
Photos of Cleanup Effort

Patrick and Christina work with other MBC staff to clear a tree blocking the Fairchild Research Center entrance

Abbey and Charles clear a downed black olive, with several species of tropical zamias in the foreground

Vickie and Christine install a temporary shade cloth canopy to protect the shade-loving tropical zamias from sunburn

Staff from Signature Trees & Palms and Gold Coast Crane Service assisting in saving our giant Corypha palm
With thousands of plants, historical properties, and a full staff of locals, planning and responding to major weather disasters can be a challenging undertaking. You can help us do both by contributing to our Disaster Recovery Fund.



