How much damage did Rita do to the keys?

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

There was a report of 102 mph gust with 75 mph winds near key west florida. How much damage has been reported?

[olddude]

Here is a report from this mornings K W Citizen.

Islanders start to clean up after Rita
BY TIMOTHY O'HARA

AND ROBERT SILK

Citizen Staff


Don't tell the residents living between Atlantic Boulevard and Flagler Avenue in Key West or the residents of Seabreeze Trailer Park in Islamorada that the Keys were spared the wrath of Hurricane Rita.

Josephine, George, Patricia and several other streets in that New Town area were virtually turned into canals. Trucks speeding through the area were treated to obscenities as they kicked up small waves that pushed flood waters from the streets into homes. Ralph Quintal and his brother, Chris Schwartz, waded through the flood waters on Josephine Street on Wednesday, sifting through any new treasures that floated along. They were occasionally yelled at by their grandfather, telling them to get out of the dirty water.

"Yep, we definitely got the worst of it," their grandfather, Rick Joyce, said. "Ninety percent of the island made it out OK, except for our little neighborhood. It's nice most of the time, because it's secluded."

His neighbor, Norman Aberle, surveyed the floodwaters from the balcony of a two-story apartment building.

"There's no protection here," Aberle said. "It's nice living upstairs here."

An old television, dirty mattresses, microwaves flooded through the brown water, pushed by the wind.

There were reports of flooding in Bahama Village and other areas around Key West, but none as bad the area along Atlantic Boulevard. The area is prone to flooding during tropical storms and the water usually takes days to drain, residents there said.

Many of the residents moved their cars to Key West High School and other higher areas. Krikor and Cyna Kuspekian evacuated up the Keys and returned to their Josephine Street home Wednesday to find their bedroom filled with several inches of water. This is not the first time and they have had enough. They plan to move to another area of Key West.

"You think it stinks bad now, wait two days," Cyna Kuspekian said.

Key West Mayor Jimmy Weekley estimated that between 90 to 100 homes in Key West suffered major flooding damage, he said.

"It came in late at night, at about 11 [p.m.] or midnight, and because of the tides did a lot of damage," Weekley said, estimating that the cost will reach into the millions. A recent full moon had local tides higher than usual.

The Keys dodged the eye of the storm by a little more than 40 miles. The wind gusts peaked at about 60 mph. There were no injuries as a direct result of the storm. A bicyclist was injured in an accident and a girl had to be taken to be hospitalized with appendicitis. Both were taken to Miami for treatment.

Gov. Jeb Bush visited the Keys on Wednesday, flying into Marathon but not touring on the ground or visiting Key West or the Upper Keys.

"I met with Keys officials, because who knows the Keys better than people from the Keys?" Bush said.

Bush also said he is investigating the possibility of a "pre-positioning contract with a hovercraft in Mississippi to help evacuate Keys residents" before storms.

County policy calls for mandatory evacuations for everyone in the Keys when a storm that could be Category 3 or higher approaches the island chain.

Keys Energy Services officials estimate that 1,400 Lower Keys and Key West homes were still without power on Wednesday evening, as residents were pouring back into the Keys.

The Upper Keys suffered damage from strong winds and heavier rains than the Lower Keys. The Seabreeze Trailer Park was perhaps the hardest hit in Islamorada. Residents spent Wednesday afternoon clearing debris, pumping water from their units and figuring out what to do next.

Water penetrated into portions of virtually all of the park's trailers. Richard Truffa, the park's maintenance man, said his unit, which is located on the far side of the park from the ocean, had waterlines approximately two-feet high and its interior had taken on a decidedly fishy odor.

"The trailer is totaled," he said. "But I have to stay here. I work for the park."

Other Seabreeze residents roamed about, wondering aloud if they would receive help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. One trailer, located on the ocean's edge, had a corner ripped off, probably caused by a boat the storm surge carried from the water to an upside-down position several feet behind the trailer.

Nearby, Seabreeze resident Deisi Gonzalez was busy cleaning up her mud-encrusted foyer.

"We're not going to claim anything," she said, perhaps mistaking a reporter for an insurance adjuster.

The biggest problem in the village was water damage to the marina's electrical system, said Josh Davis, a mate on one of the charter boats based at Whale Harbor.

At Bud N' Mary's Marina, the damage was a bit more extensive. The rising waters damaged the marina's seawall and docks.

"The dock is going to have to be repaired," said Ricky Stanczyk, whose family owns Bud N' Mary's.

The storm is yet another bill that Keys municipalities and homeowners hope they will receive federal assistance to pay. FEMA has agreed to pay Keys municipalities for clean up costs for Hurricane Dennis and Katrina, but has not reimbursed homeowners for damage to their homes. Many liveaboard boat owners lost their homes in the past two storms and are relying on the American Red Cross for help.

Hurricane Rita dealt the Keys commercial spiny lobster fishermen another dose of misery. Thousands of traps were crushed or blown away when Hurricane Katrina skirted the Keys. Many hoped to just break even this year and now wonder if they are going to be able to stay in the business, said Ralph Boragine, executive director of the Monroe County Commercial Fishermen.

"A lot of guys are totally distraught," Boragine said. "They just got their gear squared away and determined what their losses were after the last storm. I will be surprised if we get one quarter of the harvest we had last year."

Boragine estimated that 480,000 spiny lobster traps were put in the waters near the Keys and that only about 100,000 of them will be left by the time the harvest ends in March. Prior to Hurricane Rita, Boragine had been lobbying FEMA and other officials for financial assistance for commercial lobster fishermen.

Citizen staff writers Ann Henson and Robin Boyle contributed to this report.