(WSVN) - It’s been one year since Hurricane Irma ravaged the Florida Keys, and while a lot has been done so far, they are still on the road to recovery.
It was 9 a.m., Sunday Sept. 10, 2017 that category 4 Hurricane Irma’s eye crossed over Cudjoe Key; 130 mph winds, torrential rain, wind and a wicked five to eight feet of storm surge.
Most residents listened to warning and got out, but some risked their lives and stayed put.
Resident: “For two days it was hell. You didn’t know if you were gonna make it or not.”
After seeing the damage, it was hard to comprehend how anybody survived the storm. The aftermath was devastating, with homes destroyed and lives uprooted.
One year later – and for tourists, the Keys looks like it is almost back to normal. But the people who live here know it’s not.
Sharon Baron: “I feel like we’re the bastard child of Florida, because we seem to have been forgotten.”
Sharon and her husband Terry lost everything.
Terry Baron: “It’s just so overwhelming, trying to figure out what our next step is.”
Like 1,200 other families in the Keys, their home is a total loss. They can’t afford to rebuild and can’t afford to rent somewhere else.
One year after Irma, and many of the homes that were damaged have been torn down. Others look untouched, and in desperate need of extensive repairs.
Among the homes destroyed was Donna Allison’s home on Big Pine Key. She rode out the storm and almost lost her life.
Donna Allison: “Don’t ever stay in your home. If you’re disabled, get out because you’re gonna die.”
Construction has just started and there is not enough homes planned for all the people living in FEMA trailers.
Donna Allison: “I guess I’m just now getting it together in my head.”
Monroe Commissioner George Neugent: “Some of the hardest hit areas, they’re still 12 to 18 months before they get back on line.”
Some homes still look like Irma just hit. Other structures that look OK, like the Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge, still have problems on the inside.
The fishing lodge’s owners are now running the business out of a trailer.
Joan Gladwell: “I’m 86 years old, and it seems to me like everybody ought to move a little faster.”
Gladwell has owned the lodge for 46 years, and she’s frustrated the recovery has taken so long. They had to tear down some of their damaged motel rooms, and getting permits to rebuild is taking longer than expected.
Joan Gladwell: “The income was bubble, because these were the income things that we don’t have anymore.”
Her grandson Jeb took 7News out on their boat to show more of the damage.
Jeb: “It was a mess.”
Their marina, which once had 100 boats, was destroyed.
Jeb: “Right here is our back marina. We had a huge seawall all the way around this, but now it’s no longer here.”
Like many residents affected, the Gladwells are determined to rebuild.
Joan Gladwell: “We’re not quitters. Not after 46 years. We’re not people that lay it down and go home.”
One year after Irma and the peak of a new hurricane season is here. However, residents in the Keys are still facing so many unknowns.
William Sasser: “The culmination of all the events that have occurred, it is almost overwhelming. Irma was a catastrophe.”
William Sasser lives in a FEMA trailer camp on Big Pine Key. His home was destroyed by the storm, and now he’s living month to month, not sure when FEMA will make him leave.
William Sasser: “Anxious. Anxiety is the word, I guess, I’m searching for. Not really knowing, or having a definite direction.”
FEMA says there are still around 100 families living in FEMA trailers. The problem is, the people living in them can’t find other places to rent because so many of the affordable rentals were destroyed by the storm.
Monroe Commissioner George Neugent: “The biggest challenge is affordable housing for our workforce. For our economy to completely recover, we need affordable workforce housing.”
With nowhere to live, parts of the population had no choice but to pack up and leave the Keys.
Monroe Commissioner George Neugent: “Population loss, I think, will be between 10 and 20 percent.”
One year after Irma, and the drive down the Overseas Highway is as pretty as ever – but county leaders say it will likely be another year until the areas off the beaten path fully recover.
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