Hurricane Irma 90 percent of homes damaged in Florida Keys

As the death toll from Hurricane Irma climbs to 23 in the United States, residents of the Florida Keys are returning to a much different landscape from the one they left last week.

As many as 25 percent of homes in the Keys were destroyed,Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Brock Long said Tuesday evening, and as many as 65 percent of homes suffered major damage.

According to FEMA, 90 percent of homes in the Florida Keys suffered some damage.

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Waterfront homes stand exposed after being damaged by Hurricane Irma, Sept. 12, 2017 in Marathon, Fla.more +

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Reynaldo Martinez surveys the debris deposited in his backyard after Hurricane Irma struck the Florida Keys in Marathon, Fla., Sept. 12, 2017.more +

Officials from Monroe County, which includes the Keys, were quick to counter FEMA estimates on Tuesday night, saying no official estimates of damage percentages or costs have been made.

"Things look real damaged from the air, but when you clear the trees and all the debris, it's not much damage to the houses," Monroe County Commissioner Heather Carruthers said in a statement released by the county Tuesday night.

The Associated Press

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 amore +

Search and rescue teams are still going door to door in the hardest hit areas of the Keys, including Big Pine Key and Cudjoe Key, where Irma came ashore.

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Keys residents are now returning to their homes, with the Florida Department of Transportation saying all 42 bridges along U.S. 1 — the only road into and out of the Keys — have been inspected and cleared.

Amenities are another story, however. Monroe County officials said gas is "limited" and AT&T was working to restore cellphone service.

The Lower Keys are still completely without power. The Florida Keys Electric Cooperative, which provides service to the Upper Keys, says about 30 percent of its customers have electricity.

Some areas, mostly in the Upper Keys, have water, and food and water distribution stations have been set up in Key West. Anyone who has water is being asked to boil it before drinking it or cooking with it.

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Mike Gilbert hugs his daughter Brooke while looking at a destroyed three-story condominium building after Hurricane Irma struck the Florida Keys in Islamorada, Fla., Sept. 12, 2017. The Gilbert family owns a unit in the building.more +

"It's only been 48 hours after the storm hit, and it's absolutely remarkable what has been accomplished," Florida state Sen. Anitere Flores said on a conference call on Tuesday.

At least 23 people in the United States — 16 in Florida, four in South Carolina and three in Georgia — have died as a result of Irma, according to officials. Causes of deaths included car crashes and carbon monoxide poisoning from improper use of a generator.