The Florida Keys, home to about 70,000 people, appears to be one of the areas of the U.S. hardest hit by Hurricane Irma.
Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Brock Long said that preliminary estimates suggested that 25% of the homes in the Keys were destroyed and 65% sustained major damage, according to the Associated Press.
"Basically every house in the Keys was impacted," Long said.
Search & rescue still underway
On Monday, the U.S. Navy dispatched the USS Iwo Jima, USS New York and the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln to help with search and rescue in the Florida Keys.
Much of the Keys remain without power and water Tuesday, and all three of the county's hospitals are closed, including emergency rooms, according to Keys News. The supply of gas was extremely limited.
The power of 130 mph winds
Two days after Irma roared into the island chain with 130 mph winds, residents were allowed to return to the parts of the Keys closest to Florida's mainland.
But the full extent of the death and destruction there remained a question mark because cellphone service was disrupted and some places were inaccessible.
Homes in the Florida Keys have been torn open and debris is scattered everywhere, according to the latest reports. Check out photos of the widespread damage to homes in the area:
A damaged home sits in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Key West, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Damaged house boats are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, in the Florida Keys. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
A sign outside a home where a family rode out Hurricane Irma is shown, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Key Largo, Fla., in the Florida Keys. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Roofs in a mobile home park are damaged from Hurricane Irma Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, in Key West, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
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Homes damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, are seen in the Florida Keys. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
This image released by the Monroe County Board of County Commissioners shows debris along the Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys, Fla., Monday, Sept. 11, 2017. Recovery along the island chain continues after Hurricane Irma made landfall on Sunday as a Category 4 hurricane then. (Sammy Clark/Monroe County Board of County Commission via AP)
Floodwaters cover streets in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, in Key Largo, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Floodwaters surround Gilbert's Resort in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, in Key Largo, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Overturned trailer homes are shown in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, Monday, Sept. 11, 2017, in the Florida Keys. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post via AP, Pool)
Donald Garner, 57, surveys the wreckage of another houseboat from the roof of his in Lower Matecumbe Key, Fla., Tuesday Sept. 12, 2017. Garner had tied his boat, which he lives on, to the mangroves to help gird it against Hurricane Irma's wrath. The boat survived sustaining minor damage, but some others in his small community didn't fare as well. (AP Photo)
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