Commissioner Kaufman UPDATE #2 9/17/17 6:30 P.M. EOC Briefing – Hurricane Irma Recovery

OVER 9000 RESIDENTS ESTIMATED HAVE RETURNED TO KEY WEST TODAY.
SCHOOLS OPENING ON 9/25 DEPENDENT UPON ALL SCHOOLS HAVING POWER AND WATER RESTORED. UNKNOWN TONIGHT WHETHER WATER. SCHOOLS THAT ARE READY WILL BE OPEN ON 9/25, OTHER SCHOOLS NOT READY WILL NEED TO WAIT TO OPEN AT ANOTHER DATE WHEN ESSENTIAL UTILITIES WILL BE AVAILABLE.

KEY WEST- Recovery continues, lots of progress- FDOT vehicle count- 3558 cars returned which equates to over 9000 people into Key West. Main point of distribution at Searstown included 1,238 contacts, upwards of 4000 persons served, 860 cases of food and hundreds of cases of water. Less distribution at Fort Street distribution. Increased distribution expected with opening of lower keys. Debris removal is ongoing and increasing. Sheltered residents at FIU and Fairgrounds by bus to return tomorrow starting at 7:00 A.M. and second wave at noon and Tuesday return will be planned for special needs residents. Approximately 300 people in shelter, a mix of Monroe and Dade residents remain in shelter. Disaster relief team assembled in Key West associated with FEMA to determine needs over the next couple of days. 7-9 AM, 11AM-1PM and 5-10PM are the KW hours. No announcement whether restrooms will be available for opening of schools. City to enforce curfew from 10:00 P.M. until sunrise.

KEYS ENERGY – 50% overall restored customers with power. Key West and Stock Island at 86% of power restored. Sigsbee is largest area out in city limits. Plan to have energy for Sigsbee School to have energy by the end of the day Friday. Employees of Keys energy having hard time finding FEMA hotels in Key West area because none are available.

FKAA- Water from Stock Island up to Geiger Key available 24 hours. Key West remains with water available during certain hours. Making preparations for 24 hours available water in Key West. Leaks need to be reported by residents because great losses of water – 305-296-2554 is the phone number to report leaks. 1-2 million gallons may be lost on a daily basis in KW area. Water quality testing continues – goal is to get safe water- first set of tests came back with no problems on safety of the water- looks very positive to shift to potable system. No timeframe announced when kw would be back to 24 water availability.

No FEMA hotels are available in the Key West area. Closest area is in Marathon. EOC goal to move emergency workers not in the hotels, all out of town workers move into “base camps” to make room for local residents/workers.

P.S. Great work by so many dedicated people in Key West. Remember that we are ONE HUMAN FAMILY! Continue to be good to one another.

Samuel J. Kaufman
Commissioner, District 2
City of Key West