Middle Keys, 1 week post Hurricane Irma

From Marathon airport to Blimp Road. A look at the Keys 1 week later.

[@Der]

Thanks Mike!! 👍

[@andreadepaula8172]

Im so sorry! I love Florida Keys! God bless America Big hug from Brasil

[@Southernmostsunset]

Andrea de Paula we will come back.

[@gratefulqd]

Thanks for sharing. Sending best wishes for you all

[@robkeysnj]

Thank you..I spent most of my life in The Keys..Key Largo, Tavernier, Marathon, BPK. I drove a taxi and was a dispatcher for 2 years in Marathon, we had Google Maps then. Very familiar with the streets and neighs..I think the only way to document this flight minute-by minute is a PDF file so people can see their areas if they are not familiar with the geography..Working on it now.

[@hblair37]

Wow little palm island obliterated. I am thankful my wife and I were able to stay there last month. Was a beautiful place.

[@JimFariello]

OMG, unreal. I will be down there soon as a Red Cross case worker. Thanks for the look at the area.

[@lmear7266]

Wow- all those boats crushed together :( Saw a bit of green appearing in mangroves? Great Landing :)

[@mrgearheadfromhell]

Sometimes the cost of living in paradise is, everything.

[@Southernmostsunset]

mrgearheadfromhell ain't that the truth. So far clean up is worth it.

[@Mattsana]

I wonder how long it takes for the vegetation to grow back. I miss the green lushiness! :(

[@Southernmostsunset]

TheSwedishCruiser the good part is how fast nature comes back. We've gotten a few rain storms since the hurricane causing the plants to bud and sprout new leaves. A lot of green has already returned.

[@Mattsana]

Ah that sounds great to hear. I hope things will get back to normal asap. I'll be coming down to Key West to visit you guys down at the keys and I'm looking forward to it. Paradise of America.

[@johnmccarthy9093]

TheSwedishCruiser I

[@robinthomas4213]

Looks like every inch of land has a dwelling on it. A developer's Paradise but I think I saw a scrap of scrub on some vacant parcel, hurry and build a house on it. Houses that look no different than any other house all in a row. Oh, well, so long as everyone is happy. I don't know what I was thinking of.

[@playgrounddolls7766]

I am sorry for it but also I am wondering how there are so many houses - too much water all around, to close from it, to low level off ground. Sooner or later....

[@Southernmostsunset]

Mc Mc I hear that. I've been here since1993. The clean up after a storm is worth it. The most beautiful place I've ever lived.

[@CC-gr7gf]

Camera is not zoomed n far enough to see anything.

[@Southernmostsunset]

C C It gets a little better near the end and when we get near key Colony beach. I was doing freeze frames and screen grabs to get pictures. The phone I was using didn't zoom as well as my old Samsung.

[@golbeck]

This was taken around the 16th, right - before anyone was allowed back in this far?

[@Southernmostsunset]

golbeck Exactly. The 7 Mile Bridge had just opened. Most people were still sitting in FL City traffic.

[@krionic]

after watching videos of Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico it doesn't even seem like anything happened in Florida.

[@Southernmostsunset]

krionic it's deceiving from a far. When you get closer you see the destruction. Watch the last three or four minutes, especially the Marina just before landing. These island all flooded with a 9 foot surge. Some folks I know still have three feet of mud in their wrecked homes.

[@suny9144]

He you flew eight next to my dads house :D

[@GradyWhite2007]

It's very sad...but good for the economy. Plenty of jobs now! Get to work!

[@Renee201199]

so no damage at all, anybody tested for tritium ?

[@Southernmostsunset]

Renee Hinkle take your time and look closer. There is devastation everywhere. Everything on the coast is bad, and on Ramrod and Big Pine tornadoes tore up all kinds of homes. They need to test for more than just tritium, there is toxic ooze everywhere. The last few minutes of the video are of Key Colony Beach and the Driftwood Marina. They were wiped out. The nature part is coming back already.

[@KBizzy]

Southernmost Sunset Channel What's the toxic ooze a result of? The sewage raised from the surge?

[@Southernmostsunset]

Kay Bizzy everything you can and can't imagine. You smell rotting food and dead animals. You get whiffs of paint, oil, diesel fuel and fertilizer people had stored under their houses. The funk of chemicals, gasoline, sludge and sewage. Everywhere you go you smells something unbelievably foul. I'm pretty sure a lot of it is highly toxic. The cleanup has begun, but we have a long way to go. The mountains of appliances and debris are stacking up everywhere.