Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and catastrophic hurricane.  It was the strongest hurricane observed in the Atlantic since Wilma in 2005 in terms of maximum sustained winds.  It made Florida landfall in Cudjoe Key as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds at 130 mph.  It then made a second landfall on Marco Island, Florida as a Category 3.  We were heading south on our annual snowbird trip to the Keys when Irma hit. 

We have close friends who live in Islamorada which is only about 45 miles northeast of where the hurricane made landfall.  The seriousness of the impending storm caused our friends to evacuate and head north to the Orlando area.  They rode out the storm in a motel with their animals and all were safe.  We spoke to them often and kept up with the news.  We wanted to immediately accelerate our drive south to help them rebuild but visitors were not allowed in the Keys.  We finally got the OK to enter the Keys and on October 1^st  we arrived at our campground. 

Overseas Highway is the main road running through the Keys.  As we drove south there was devastation everywhere.  The road and surrounding areas were lined with debris.  Trees, wires, boats, jet ski’s, broken docks, appliances, mattresses, sheds and building debris was everywhere.  Everything you can imagine was strewn about.  Many buildings along the ocean side of the road were destroyed or severely damaged.  Trailer parks located along the ocean where totally destroyed with some trailers collapsed or rolled over on their sides.  Thousands of trees were down or broken off. There were sunken boats everywhere. Many of the big resorts which line the shores of the Keys were severely damaged.  The further south we traveled the worse the destruction got. About a week after our arrival in Islamorada we took a ride further south and the closer we got to the point of landfall the more unimaginable the destruction was.

Our friends were fairly lucky. Their home, which is directly across from their business and on the ocean side of the highway, was undamaged.  Unfortunately their commercial property had extensive damage with many trees down and three buildings damaged.  As the trees fell the roots ripped up concrete walks and patios and damaged the walls of their buildings.  Three of the trees fell directly on their buildings and destroyed the roofs. We’re glad to be available to work with them as they continue to rebuild.

It will take years for the Keys to recover.  Most of the economy in the Keys is from tourism, especially during the winter months when people head south for the warmer weather.  With many of the damaged resorts, hotels, restaurants and shops still closed, there are no tourists coming to the Keys.  This has forced many small businesses to close.  The Keys are beautiful and hopefully, as recovery continues, everything will be better than ever.