Hurricane Irma: Florida Keys Residents, Business Owners Allowed Back

KEY WEST, FL — Officials in the upper Florida Keys began allowing residents and business owners to return after Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc on the region, but federal emergency officials said it would take time to survey the damage in many areas before allowing residents to return.

Irma ripped through the Florida Keys as a Category 4 storm, and the fate of the tropical islands remains largely unknown. Communication and access were severed and authorities have only released vague damage assessments in drips and drops.

The Florida Keys "took the brunt of the hit" from Hurricane Irma, FEMA Administrator Brock Long said. In a news conference Tuesday, he said most Monroe County homes were affected, some being damaged or completely destroyed. (For more information on Hurricane Irma's impact on the Florida Keys and other Miami stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Watch: Helicopter Surveys Damage In Key West, Florida

But people can now return to Monroe County, which includes Key West and Key Largo. In a Facebook post, county officials said a yellow re-entry sticker or proof of residency or business ownership is required.
Officials warned returning residents that only limited services are available and most areas remain without power and water. Cellphone service is also limited and most gas stations near Key Largo remain closed.

A roadblock will be installed near mile marker 74, where part of U.S. 1 was washed out. A road crew was expected to begin repairs Tuesday.Crews are working to clear U.S. 1, the only road that runs north/south through the Florida Keys. County officials also said Mariners Hospital in Tavernier was expected to reopen Tuesday morning.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott called the storm "devastating" after emerging from a Monday fly-over of the Keys. A Navy aircraft carrier was expected to anchor off Key West to help with search-and-rescue efforts. The governor said he saw overturned mobile homes, washed-ashore boats and rampant flood damage.
Irma left six people dead in Florida, along with three in Georgia and one in South Carolina. At least 35 people were killed in the Caribbean. The storm damaged the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Florida's Seminole Tribe, which relies on federal disaster relief.

Last week, the Homeland Security Department issued a week-long waiver on federal restrictions of foreign vessels so they could help give out fuel. Officials noted this action should help, but urged people to be patient.
Christopher Krebs, head of infrastructure protection for the Homeland Security Department, told reporters Tuesday that Harvey took a "significant amount" of the nation's refining capacity offline and affected distribution. "As a result," he said, "there may be some fuel supply shortages throughout the Southeast."

Florida's Division of Emergency Management reported Tuesday morning that more than 5 million customers in the state didn't have electricity. That's more than 50 percent of the state's population. The actual number of people affected is likely much higher because utilities are reporting the number of accounts affected by outages.

Some areas including Collier County said more than 90 percent of homes and businesses had no electricity.

Federal officials say their focus Tuesday in storm-ravaged Florida will be on deploying aircraft to survey the damage and orchestrate any needed rescues. They're warning residents to stay away until local authorities declare their area safe.

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke told reporters in Washington "our No. 1 concern today is with saving lives." Duke said weather is cooperating, and the Defense Department and other federal agencies are contributing resources.

"We are working to get as many aircraft in the air as possible," she said.
Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, says of Irma damage: "This is going to be a frustrating event" and it will likely be "some time" before people are allowed back into their homes.

Photo credit: Matt McClain/The Washington Post via AP