Key West and Irma
 

Key West lost cel, internet, and electric connections this morning. Very hard to find out what's happening there. For bits of information coming through (some people have satellite phones), there's a good Facebook community page: "Key West Hurricane Irma"

The following *seems* accurate:
--no casualties have been reported in Key West
--the Seven Mile Bridge may be damaged
--there are reports that two other bridges are out
--the storm surge in Key West has not been as high as the surge reported up the Keys in Marathon and other islands
--high tide is just about over now for Key West, which should cause the surge to ease
--evacuees will not be permitted to return until bridges confirmed safe and essential services restored

Fingers crossed!

Looks like the Hemingway House is intact, only some trees down on the property, no flooding in streets around HH.

Thank you, EYWandBTV. I've been thinking of the caretaker, cats, and the house. I'm also concerned about the Audubon house.

The Audubon House was restored about a dozen years ago. So there's a good chance that they strengthened the structure. We hope.

I'm more concerned about my cousins' houseboat than anything else. They were still here in CA this morning and had no more information than anyone else.

really?

The Marriott housed many. It was built to withstand a cat 5. Kevin's Irish pub house a lot also, Cemetery is the highest point there. I was a bit worried about the Truman White House.

Any word on Marathon? They were on the other side of the eye. That is an area with a lot of old buildings.

Marathon and the Middle and Upper Keys were on the really bad east side of Irma. Key West was on the not-so-bad west side. Here's a summary of the briefing by the Monroe County emergency team about Marathon taken from the Facebook page mentioned above (it's full of more detailed information as of last ight):

"Big Pine / Marathon – Still not on the conference call, but there has been limited communication with Sheriff Ramsey who is at the MHS refuge. The airport there may require more work with debris, but it is a top priority. Marathon and Big Pine appear to be some of the hardest hit areas. No “eyes on” intel from Big Pine at this time."

It looks like Key West came through fairly well. Rule of thumb: if a neighborhood flooded during Wilma, it has flooded during Irma. But most of Old Town and the Meadows seems to be dry.

About the Truman Little White House: there's no information. Its web site says it's closed til further notice. I work there as a guide in the winter months. The building dates back to 1890 so it's seen a lot of hurricanes. Let's hope it's in one piece. It's on Front Street, which did flood, but LWH is on piers, elevated 2 feet or so.

Just got text from director of Truman Little White House, no info yet and no one except emergency crews can enter the Keys right now.

So nice you are a guide there. My friend is married to a Truman grandson. We stay mostly on Trumbo so happy to hear most is ok.

Here's a NOAA website showing satellite images of all of Key West and Stock Island. This is taken after Irma. You can continue to enlarge the map until individual houses appear. It looks like there is very little structural damage in Old Town. Looking at the Mallory Square - Simonton beach area on the northwest side of the island, you can see a few boats blown onto the shore, but I didn't spot any roofs blown away etc.

https://storms.ngs.noaa.gov/storms/irma/index.html

And yet there is this on CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/12/us/irm...ath/index.html

Big difference between Key West and the islands from Big Pine going north. They were on the very bad eastern side of Irma and got smacked. Read the latest posts on the FB site listed above. KW Old Town and the Meadows in pretty good shape with flooding only around the edges

Good news... But also bad news... City Commissioner Jimmy Weekley said this morning that KW sewage system not working so everyone in KW may be evacuated to USS Lincoln aircraft carrier to avoid disease. Ugh.

EXCUSE ME, but I am VERY familiar with the "differences" but obviously a lot of people are not and that "lot" unfortunately are reading CNN a great deal more than they are your post.

I am happy to hear that Key West got through this thing with such little damage, etc., and I am certain that will be used by some as a rationale for not evacuating the place AGAIN the next time there is a major storm, too.

Update: the Monroe County Commission says it is not necessary to evacuate the Keys. Residents and business owners are now being admitted to the upper keys.

FYI, if you are in or near the eye wall of a cat 4 hurricane it's not gonna mean a rat's a$$ if you are on the east or west side of it. It's just as bad on both sides.

If you are 50 or 100 miles away from the eye then yes, it is worst on the northeast quadrant of the storm.

Factoid: Key West is 50 miles from Marathon.

Here's another good source of information: Quincy Perkins, a conch who stayed in KW, has a team driving around town checking on people's homes, churches, buildings...he's on Facebook and you can submit a comment asking him to check on a house or relatives/friends in town.