Key Largo Water Damage Help, From King Tides to Hurricanes

Seawater sat on the streets of Stillwright Point for roughly three months in the fall of 2019. No hurricane caused it. King tides, a bay-level neighborhood built on settling fill, and a rock foundation that lets the sea rise up from below combined to make a Key Largo subdivision a national example of what chronic tidal flooding looks like. Hurricanes add their own surge on top, from both the Atlantic and the Florida Bay side of the island.

The Restoration Job is a referral line: call (888) 317-9980, around the clock, and we'll connect you with an independent restoration provider that serves the Upper Keys. Providers covering this part of Monroe County may be traveling some distance down the island chain, so it helps to describe the damage clearly when you call.

Porous Limestone and Water From Below

Key Largo is a fossil coral reef, a 33-mile ridge of Key Largo limestone that peaks at about 15 feet above sea level. That rock is full of holes. Because of it, high tides do not just come over seawalls; they push up through the ground and through storm drains, which is why berms and walls alone cannot keep some neighborhoods dry. A local writer living at nine feet of elevation, in an X flood zone, has described tidal flooding arriving from underground rather than from the shoreline.

For a house, that means water can appear in a yard, driveway or ground-level enclosure with no obvious path from the water's edge. Ground-floor storage rooms and garages under elevated homes are the most common places for it to cause damage.

Twin Lakes, Stillwright Point and the King Tide Season

Monroe County has singled out two Key Largo neighborhoods as its most flood-prone. Twin Lakes residents went through more than a month of continuous saltwater flooding in 2015 and 2016, and the county has since begun a roughly $21 million project there to raise about 4,600 feet of road for 105 homes to 2040 sea level projections and add a stormwater pump system. Stillwright Point flooded for more than 90 days in 2019 and around 70 days in 2020, and is in line for similar work.

Tidal water is salty and carries road grime. Residents have reported corrosion on cars that had to drive through it every day. If it reaches a garage or ground-level enclosure, rinse metal, pull out wet stored items, and treat porous materials it touched as contaminated.

Surge on the Florida Bay Side

Key Largo sits between the open Atlantic and the shallow waters of Florida Bay, and the bay side has flooded in more than one storm. During Hurricane Wilma in 2005, surge and abnormally high tides flooded several single-family homes on the bay side, damaged docks and destroyed a 100-foot concrete seawall, with water in parts of the Upper Keys reaching about 4.5 to 5 feet above mean sea level. In 2017, surveyors found a high-water mark from Hurricane Irma 4.11 feet above ground in Key Largo, and sustained winds hit 62 mph.

After surge, the cleanup focus is on removing saturated materials quickly. A provider handling flood cleanup will typically clear out wet drywall, insulation and flooring from lower levels, wash down framing to remove salt and silt, and dry the structure before any rebuilding.

Practical Steps on a Long, Narrow Island

• The Overseas Highway is the lifeline for the whole chain. After a big storm, supplies and contractors arrive slowly, so start protecting your property yourself: tarp roof openings, get water out with a wet vac, and run fans or the air conditioning if power is on.
• Photograph everything before moving it, including water lines on walls, ground-level enclosures and outdoor equipment.
• Check whether damage came from rising water, which is a flood insurance matter, or from wind-driven rain through the roof, which falls under a windstorm or homeowners policy.
• Shut off water at the main if any plumbing was damaged, and have electrical systems in flooded enclosures checked before restoring power to them.

Restoration providers commonly offer water damage repair after drying, including replacing drywall, baseboards and flooring in lower-level rooms.

Keeping Mold Out of Elevated and Seasonal Homes

In a raised Key Largo home, living space sits upstairs with storage or a garage below. The lower enclosure takes the water; the upper floors deal with humidity. A wet enclosure left closed after a storm will raise moisture in the floor framing above it, and in this climate mold can follow within days. Keep enclosures ventilated after flooding, remove wet cardboard and fabric quickly, and if a house will sit empty for a season, leave the air conditioning running at a moderate setting. Where growth appears, ask for a moisture assessment before mold remediation so the source is fixed first.

Down the chain, Key West faces its own surge history and older wood-frame housing.