Florida Keys Damage By Hurricane Irma Detailed In First Pictures And Videos

Hurricane Irma tore through Florida this weekend, leaving behind a path of destruction particularly in the Florida Keys. A lack of communication from the island chain and impassable roadways made it difficult to discern just how extensive the damage was. Initial pictures and videos out of the region, however, show catastrophic wreckage on the Keys.

Photos documenting the aftermath showed boats littered throughout the landscape among downed trees and other debris. Houses and other structures could be seen fully leveled.

“Thank God a lot of people evacuated the Keys,” said Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Joe Sanchez, according to the Miami Herald. “When you start heading down in the Keys that’s when you start having a lot of debris on the road and some devastation.”

The main highway into the Florida Keys, Southbound US-1, remained closed Monday afternoon — troopers could only make it as far as Mile Marker 88. Officials were working to get roadways reopened in order to effectively get aid to the Keys.

“We have a lot of debris on the road, we have wires down, live wires,” said Sanchez. “We have to give the proper authorities the opportunity to go down and evaluate the danger and address the danger.”

When Irma hit the Keys as a Category 4 storm early Sunday, the eye of the storm passed directly through Cudjoe Key, about 20 miles east of Key West, bringing with it 130 mph winds. Officials called the aftermath a “humanitarian crisis.”

“Best word I could say is war zone,” tweeted CBS Miami reporter David Sutta while looking at the aftermath in the Keys Monday. “People are walking to find family and friends. No one knows.”

The region remained without power, water or cell phone service Monday afternoon. While no deaths had yet been reported, Morgan County emergency management director Martin Senterfitt told the Weather Channel he expected to see fatalities.

“The Keys, I’m very concerned about. The Marco Islands area, we have a lot of concerns about that,” Gov. Rick Scott told Fox News. “We’re going down to the Keys to try to make sure the roads are passable, make sure the bridges are safe.”

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