Hurricane Irma Florida Keys Monroe County Recovery Website

FOOD AND WATER DISTRIBUTION

Six distribution centers for food and water will be in operation, located at:
- Coral Shores High School
- Marathon High School
- National Key Deer Refuge office on the Overseas Highway in Big Pine Key
- Sugarloaf School
- Sears Town Plaza in New Town Key West
- 4^th Street parking lot near the soccer field in Bahama Village in Old Town Key West
Distribution sites will be open daily from noon until 6:00 p.m.
FKAA has opened their storage tanks for water distribution from 8:00am to 6:00pm daily. Facilities are located at:
- Mile marker 10 on Big Coppitt Key
- Horace street on Summerland Key
- Drinka Lane across from Winn Dixie on Big Pine Key
From 10 a.m. to noon and from 5 to 7 p.m., Key West and Stock Island will have water from stored supplies.

BOIL WATER ORDER

A Boil Water Notice is still in effect Keyswide. Take these steps to ensure that the water used in your home (or food service establishment) is safe:

Bring the water to a rolling boil and hold it there for one (1) minute.
Use a disinfecting chemical. If you cannot boil water, you should put 8 drops of common household bleach (about 1/8th teaspoon) into 1 gallon of tap water, then shake it and allow it to stand for 30 minutes before drinking. If the water is cloudy, use 16 drops (about 1/4 teaspoon) of bleach instead of 8, shake it, and let it stand for 30 minutes. There should be a slight chlorine odor. Use common household bleach that has 5% to 6% active ingredients. Use food grade containers. Don’t use bleach that has perfume scents added.
Use water purification tablets or iodine that many sports and camping stores sell.
Use purified water for cooking, drinking, and for pets.
Tap water may be used for showering, baths, shaving, and washing, so long as care is taken not to swallow or allow water in eyes or nose or mouth. Children and those with special needs should have their bath supervised to ensure that water is not ingested. The time spent bathing should be minimized. Though the risk of illness is minimal, individuals who have recent surgical wounds, have compromised immune systems, or have a chronic illness may want to consider using bottled or boiled water for cleansing until the notice is lifted.
Go to fkaa.com for more information on what a Boil Water Notice Means to you.

MEDICAL SERVICES

Mariners Hospital in Tavernier has opened its emergency room.
A medical care center has been established at Marathon City Hall with the support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. People seeking medical care should access the center in the parking lot of Marathon City Hall, 9805 Overseas Hwy, using the 99^th Street Ocean entrance, or dial 9-1-1 for a medical emergency.
Fisherman’s Hospital remains closed

SERVICES

GROCERY STORES
The Winn-Dixie and Publix grocery stores are open in Key Largo with limited hours.

PHARMACY

The CVS Pharmacy in Key Largo opened Wednesday.

MARINE TOWING AND SALVAGE

Sea Tow Key Largo is up and running. All vessels, salavage equipment, trucks and trailers are ready for work. If you need assistance, call: 502-645-3578 or 305-451-3330.

FUEL

Fuel remains limited in the Keys. But gas stations are beginning to open up to the public, especially in the Upper Keys. The Marlin at MM 88, the Valero at MM 92 and the Circle K at MM 102 were open this morning.

INSURANCE

Citizen’s Property Insurance will come into the Keys today to set up a base camp. The location and hours of operation will be announced soon.

CURFEW

The dusk-to-dawn curfew will remain in place until further notice. Any citizen out moving around at night will be stopped by law enforcement.

POWER

Keys Energy Services, which covers the South end of Seven Mile Bridge to Key West, reports that about 7 percent of their clients now have service. This includes power to the Monroe County Assisted Living Facility, whose generator had failed.
Crews are working up to Sugar Loaf at about MM 17. Keys Energy is expecting the arrival of more crews to work in the hardest hits area, which include Big Pine Key and Cudjoe Key.
Power also is expected to go on line today at the Key West Resort Utilities, which includes the sewer treatment plant.
The Florida Keys Electric Coop, which services the rest of the Keys, has about 30 percent of its service area back online.
The main line is energized and the crews are not working to get the side streets power. Several key firehouses, government buildings, Plantation Key jail and Mariners Hospital in Tavernier all have power.

RE-ENTRY

Re-entry is still limited to residents and business owners in the Upper Keys, to mile marker 73. Work is being done as quickly as possible to make it safe enough to open the rest of the Keys to re-entry.
Work is being done as quickly as possible to make it safe enough to open the rest of the Keys to re-entry.
Please be patient. Marathon to Key West still is unsafe to return. There is limited water, food, power, fuel, sewer and medical services.
“We know people are anxious to return but we can’t put an artificial timeline on when it will be safe to return,” Monroe County Health Department Director Bob Eadie. “Now it is not safe for people to come to the Middle Keys. We don’t want to create a health crisis.”
The Upper Keys situation is different. Much of the area has water, power, fuel, a functioning ER (and proximity to Miami-Dade medical facilities) and open grocery stores and a pharmacy.

ROADS AND BRIDGES

FDOT reports that all of U.S. 1 is open and safe to travel and they will be assisting in inspecting the County bridges that are not on U.S. 1.
Key West City Manager Jim Scholl reports that all streets in the Key West are expected to be clear by the end of the day. Crews will soon begin to pick up the debris that has been shoved to the sides of streets.
Debris will be picked up from residences and businesses too in the days to come. The debris should be piled up near the road, but not block the road.

SEARCH AND RESCUE

Search and rescue teams continue today to go door to door in the hardest hit areas of the Keys, including Big Pine Key and Cudjoe Key. Military personnel have helped law enforcement break through the debris and assist in the search.
Those trying to connect with friends and family can post their status or look up names via the Red Cross Safe and Well program safeandwell.org or call 1-844-782-9441.