http://www.tmz.com/2017/09/10/hemingway-houses-cats-hurricane-irma-key-west/
9/10/2017 5:20 PM PDT
Hemingway House’s Kitties are Safe After Hurricane Irma Spares Key West
The cats who call the Hemingway House in Key West home are all safe and accounted for after the bulk of Hurricane Irma spared the island city ... TMZ has learned.
Staff members that work at the Hemingway House tell us all 55 cats — and the people who stayed behind to care for them — are a-okay at the property ... which itself is still standing and suffered no major structural damage.
We’re told all 10 Hemingway occupants, including manager Jacque Sands, lucked out big time since Irma left significantly less destruction than in the other Keys. Sources tell us while there are a few trees down on the estate, everything else at the house appears to be fine.
The Hemingway House also avoided major flooding. A source at the National Weather Service tells us Key West only saw a water surge of about 3 feet as opposed to the 15-20 feet anticipated throughout the Keys as Irma approached. We’re told Key West was in the eye wall — the strongest part of the hurricane — for 2 hours. Water has begun to recede as Irma moves north.
As a result, those at the house are not currently inundated by water unlike Miami — but are staying inside until winds die down.
As for those 6-toed cats ... talk about nine lives, huh?
https://keysnews.com/article/story/irma-slugs-cudjoe-key-early-sunday/
Relief Effort Begins After Monster Storm
By Dan Campbell Key West CitizenSeptember 10, 2017
Updated At 6:30 PM
FLORIDA KEYS – Monroe County officials announced a major relief mission is already in the works in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, which slugged Cudjoe Key just after 9 a.m. Sunday as a Category 4 storm packing 130 mph winds.
Hurricane force winds extended up to 80 miles from the storm’s eye wall to wreak havoc along the entire island chain. Tropical storm winds reached out 220 miles, the National Hurricane Center reported.
Air National Guard C130 cargo planes are expected to arrive bearing personnel and supplies at the county airports in Key West and Marathon. The American Red Cross is also responding.
“They are on standby and ready to go,” said Islamorada Councilman Mike Forster, who participated in the county’s relief effort discussions. “They are waiting to make sure the runways are clear.”
County Administrator Roman Gastesi said state and federal first-responders are already on the ground, and county public works crews and contractors were working on clearing U.S. 1 Sunday evening. He said heavy equipment was pre-staged throughout the Keys to expedite the effort.
“It’s time to rebuild,” Gastesi said. “It’s time start cleaning up our paradise. We all know this is part of the cost of living here.”
No damage assessment or report on loss of life were available Sunday afternoon.
It appears that the heaviest damage was between Big Pine Key and Cudjoe Key, along with Summerland Key and Big Coppitt, based on what little communication has been able to get out since Sunday morning. Power outages, loss of cell service and sporadic water outages were common throughout the islands. The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority issued a Keys-wide boil water notice as a precaution.
As Irma skirted the northern coast of Cuba Saturday, the Monroe County Emergency Operations Center relocated from Marathon to Key Largo in anticipation of the storm’s northward turn to the Keys.
There were reports of water beginning to breech the Sea Oats Beach area of U.S. 1 on Lower Matecumbe Key Saturday, a low-lying portion of the highway vulnerable to flooding during storms. CNN news crews in Key Largo reported Sunday morning that the northbound lane of the 18-Mile Stretch was covered with sand and debris, most likely along the portion of U.S. 1 that hugs Barnes Sound. The southbound lane remained clear. The roadway is divided by a concrete barrier.
The county opened four refuges of last resort at the three public high schools and Sugarloaf School for those who failed to heed the mandatory evacuation order Thursday. They are unstaffed with limited services. A person seeking shelter at the Marathon High School shelter died overnight from natural causes.
Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward, who was a Miami Beach police officer when Hurricane Andrew struck South Dade 25 years ago, has seen his fair share of hurricanes over the years.
“This is a pretty big one,” he said from his Plantation Key office at 8:30 a.m. Sunday just before Irma’s eye made landfall in the Lower Keys.
Ward reported howling winds and tree damage, but limited flooding in the Islamorada area. No reports on flooding impacts in the Lower Keys are available yet. The storm, however, pulled water away from shore along portions of Florida Bay, raising concerns about flooding as the storm passes and the tides turns, much like what took place in the wake of Hurricane Wilma in 2005. The National Weather Service predicted a potential storm surge of 5 to 10 feet in the Keys.
Ward took on the role of a weather correspondent of sorts by driving around and posting video and commentary on his Facebook page. On Sunday afternoon, he helped dispel a rumor that the drawbridge at Snake Creek, between Plantation and Windley keys, was impassable.
“People who evacuated are certainly concerned about their family, their property and their friends. Some are sorry they left. Some have businesses,” Ward said. “Posting video to Facebook I think calms their anxieties. I thought it would be a good idea to give them some snapshots of the current situation. I think it helps. I think it helps them.”
Re-entry into the Florida Keys will not be immediate for residents, according to Cammy Clark, county public information officer.
“The bridges and roadways must be inspected first. Monroe County already has plans in place for crews to do the inspections as soon as conditions are safe,” she said.
If you need to search for a friend or family member in Monroe County after the storm, or if you want to let family and friends know you are all right, go to the Red Cross “Safe and Well” website. This is a centralized location for people in disaster areas to register their current status and for their loved ones to access that information.
To list yourself as safe and well, go to the following link: https://safeandwell.communityos.org/zf/safe/add
To search for a family member, go to this link: https://safeandwell.communityos.org/zf/safesearch/search
So glad the kitties are safe. I worry about animals who can’t understand what’s going on, and are at risk.
Good to hear about the kitties.