Ruth Campbell, 97, has lived in Homestead most of her life, but nothing prepared her for the devastation of Hurricane Andrew.
In August 1992, a Category 5 Hurricane Andrew hit the Bahamas and barreled toward South Florida. It slammed into the coast, with Homestead taking the brunt of the storm.
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More than a dozen people were killed, and damage was in the billions of dollars.
"It affected everybody one way or another," she said.
As they began to assess the damage, it turned out the amount of damage varied greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood.
"It was a big learning experience to say the least," Campbell said. "The older houses stood up better than the new houses. Strangely enough, you wouldn't think that, but that's what we learned from that is you better build better. You better build for a storm," Campbell said.
After Hurricane Andrew, tougher building codes were put in place, and people became more aware of how destructive the tropical cyclones can be.
Since the storm hit South Florida 25 years ago, Homestead's population has tripled in size.
"We're not a tiny little speck on the map anymore," Mayor Jeff Porter said.
He said volunteers who came to help with the recovery efforts ended up staying.
"The challenge is to build that bridge between old Homesteaders and new Homesteaders," he said.
Along Krome Avenue, the main street through downtown, businesses are coming back.
"Homestead is going to survive. It's going to thrive," Porter said.
There's a new city hall and a new police station, too, both built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane.
"Our residents want us to be standing tall and strong when the wind stops," he said.
The city is full of new construction, with shopping centers and housing developments being built.
"I tell people all the time, I couldn't be more proud to be not only in Homestead but to be able to say that I'm the mayor of Homestead today," Porter said.
But Campbell points out the importance of remembering the past.
"Hurricane Andrew is what we came through and we did very well, and it means so much to me because I love this city," she said.