Hurricane Irma unequivocally pummeled the southeastern United States. America’s boot, Florida, is in absolute shambles. After ransacking the Caribbean territories and aggressively shaving Cuba, the Florida Keys were next to receive her unstoppable trajectory. Hurricane Irma’s initial impacts were as surreal as it gets. After Hurricane Irma’s formidable fury left a paradise populace stunned with thought-provoking sobriety, first responders from far and wide suited-up, grabbed gear, and headed south.
The southernmost tip of Florida, Key West, normally bathed in sunshine…is now heavily blanketed with search and rescue (SAR) personnel. Governed by Monroe County authorities, the Florida Keys consist of roughly 79,000 residents, scores of vacationers from all over the globe, and bustling cruise ship traffic. Now, it is a mere box of puzzle pieces, with anyone’s guess as to what’s missing.
“Coconut Telegraph”
One of the 79,000 island dwellers, someone with whom I served in police uniform years ago, had a roadside chat with a chaplain who was leading a body recovery expeditionary unit throughout the Florida Keys. Our OpsLens source, a hunkered-down survivor of Hurricane Irma, communicated a portion of that conversation he had with the chaplain, somberly revealing “roughly 100 bodies were pulled from waters” surrounding and upon the Florida Keys. Albeit unconfirmed by medical examiners, drowning is the preliminary cause of these deaths.
OpsLens’ source explained, “No one is getting in to the island chain unless military, public safety officials, search and rescue outfits, power company linemen…or a resident of the Keys in possession of verifiable proof. Â So, reporters are not even here.” Without power, the conveyor of this information resourcefully doctored a portable WiFi (MiFi), much like I am using to write this piece–I, too, am a Hurricane Irma survivor, 398 miles northwest of Key West.
How does information ordinarily get shared in the string of tiny islands known as the Florida Keys? Seasoned with local pride, our source described it as the “coconut telegraph.” Much is within walking distance, so folks stop and chat roadside. When power is out, word-of-mouth is an organic gazette.
The Keys are a chain of islands linked together by one road –the only route in/out– and surrounded by water. Monroe County’s tip (Key West) is essentially the brush blending the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean blues together. As Hurricane Irma has acutely defined, the Florida Keys are a most-serene tropical locale often vulnerable to Mother Nature’s ample force.
Search and Rescue Resources
As of September 13, a whopping 2000 National Guard personnel are in The Keys aiding federal, state, county and local first responders. As such, deployed teams include body recovery units. Florida Governor Rick Scott published a role call of allocations, delineating the myriad resources distributed all throughout Florida, including federal government components. In my venture out last night, caravans of power company linemen from afar were still arriving, staging in large parking lots from which debris was cleared and carted away.
A figure I discovered yesterday morning was 50 known deaths directly attributable to Hurricane Irma. This morning, I read Irma caused 31 deaths across three states –Florida, Georgie, S. Carolina. As time lapses and SAR operatives forge on, an official death toll is the elephant in the room. OpsLens maintains a static eye on Hurricane Irma’s outcome.
Monroe County officials posted a written statement on September 12, refuting a published report from the Department of Defense (DoD) which claimed, “Damage to the Keys may necessitate evacuation of the 10,000 persons who did not evacuate before the storm.” Monroe County decried such a claim as erroneous and “untrue.”
As SAR personnel continue their efforts, fuel remains in short supply, with nary a station open. However, per Governor Rick Scott’s office, maritime ports’ schedules were reshuffled to prioritize fuel tankers staged out in the now-docile Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean.
To facilitate much-needed fuel tankers’ en route to gas stations, Florida Gov. Scott has tapped the Florida Highway Patrol, allocating “20 troopers dedicated to escorting fuel resupply trucks to communities in need.” Yesterday, Gov. Scott toured the Florida keys with state law enforcement personnel to ensure base of operations is robust:
On the ground in the FL Keys with @FLGuard, FHP and @MyFWC officers to tour damage from Hurricane Irma. pic.twitter.com/7HougNZpDa
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) September 14, 2017
Additionally, “there are more than 9,000 soldiers and airmen on the ground,” 2000 of which are assigned to the Florida Keys, Gov. Scott’s office confirmed.
Upon publication of this article, President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are on the ground in Key West, surveying along with Florida Governor Scott while partaking in briefings regarding SAR efforts:
About to tour Hurricane Irma damage in SWFL with @POTUS, @VP pic.twitter.com/Xq6pBspZyy
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) September 14, 2017
