Approximately 20,700 US troops are supporting recovery operations in Florida and Georgia as residents start to clean up the horrific damage caused by Hurricane Irma.
Troops are providing supplies including food, water and fuel to residents as well as search and rescue airfields across both states.
Power restoration, debris removal and temporary roofing teams are helping rebuild cities and towns flattened by Irma, which killed 12 in Florida, in addition to four in South Carolina and two in Georgia. At least 37 people in the Caribbean were killed by the storm.
The USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Farragut, USS Iwo Jima, USS New York, and the USS San Jacinto are all on Florida coast conducting relief missions, with the USS Farragut due to arrive on Wednesday, according to the Department of Defense.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are visiting Florida on Thursday to survey damage across the state.
Air Crewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class Kurt Weber, from Langing, Kansas, is hoisted into an MH-60R Sea Hawk, from the Spartans of Helicopter Sea Maritime Squadron (HSM) 70, after providing aid to residents in the Florida Keys affected by Hurricane Irma
Air Crewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class Sam Jeune, from Grand Rapids, Minnesota, prepares to lower water to residents affected by Hurricane Irma from an MH-60R Sea Hawk, from the Spartans of Helicopter Sea Maritime Squadron (HSM) 70
The Department of Defense is supporting Federal Emergency Management Agency, the lead federal agency, in helping those affected by Hurricane Irma to minimize suffering and is one component of the overall whole-of-government response effort
Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) 1st Class William O’Connor, center, and Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) 3rd Class Nathan Mestas, left, rescue swimmers assigned to the Swampfoxes of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74, provide aid to a Florida resident in the Keys who was affected by Hurricane Irma
Alejandro Trujillo, a pilot assigned to the Swampfoxes of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74, carries water from an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter to Florida residents affected by Hurricane Irma
Senior Chief Naval Aircrewman Xipetotec Thorngate searches Key West during a reconnaissance mission from an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter over Key West, Florida
Helicopters from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier have delivered supplies to forces opening Marathon Airport in the Florida Keys – a region that lost 25 per cent of its homes to Irma.
The National Guard also has arrived in the island chain amid official fears that a humanitarian crisis may be developing in the stricken region.
Meanwhile, the Army is sending High Water Trucks from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Florida and Georgia, and fuel and supplies will be moved to search and rescue airfields.
The Army alone has more than 17,600 soldiers and US Army Corps of Engineers civilians in the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the continental United States.
More than 740 trucks and 38 aircraft are in the region providing relief efforts and has hundreds more on standby in case they’re needed for further support.
US Navy Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) load water into an MH-60S Sea Hawk from the Ghost Riders of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28 for delivery to Florida residents affected by Hurricane Irma on the flight deck
Navy Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) load pallets of water into an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter from the Ghost Riders of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28 for delivery to Florida residents
Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28 conduct flight operations from the flight deck of the USS Iwo Jima, which is currently stationed in the Atlantic Ocean
The Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461 conduct flight operations with CH-53E Super Stallions from the flight deck of the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima
Air Crewman (Helicopter) 2nd Class Kurt Weber, from Langing, Kansas, drops off water from an MH-60R Sea Hawk, from the Spartans of Helicopter Sea Maritime Squadron (HSM) 70, to aid residents affected by Hurricane Irma
The USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier, reached the Florida Keys on Monday and has been providing relief and surveying damage for the last several days
USS Abraham Lincoln reached the Florida Keys, where up to 10,000 people may need to be evacuated, on Monday.
Its helicopters flew over the region to survey the damage earlier this week, and its troops are already providing much-needed supplies to the area.
The ship is among some of the most complex ever built, weighing more than 99,000 tons, housing as many as 6,000 sailors, and supporting more than 70 aircraft.
It can generate 100,000 gallons a water a day and also contains a 50 bed hospital.
Amphibious assault ships USS Iwo Jim and USS New York ported in Mayport, Florida, to gather supplies before supporting recovery options.
The USS Iwo Jima is 844ft long and can travel up to 25mph. The 40,0000 ton ship carries nearly 1,900 Marines and a mix of 30 helicopters.
Sailors aboard the Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) move pallets of water in preparation to support those affected by Hurricane Irma
Damage Controlman 3rd Class Brian Waters, from Oelwein, Iowa, fills containers of water aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln
The Department of Defense is supporting Federal Emergency Management Agency, the lead federal agency, in helping those affected by Hurricane Irma to minimize suffering and is one component of the overall whole-of-government response effort
USS Abraham Lincoln (its interior pictured above) reached the Florida Keys, where up to 10,000 people may need to be evacuated, on Monday and its helicopters are flying over the region to survey the damage
Florida Gov Rick Scott said officials on the USS Abraham Lincoln will focus their efforts in the Florida Keys, where Irma rumbled through with Category 4 muscle. Pictured above, Sailors assigned to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) fill containers of water on board Abraham Lincoln
Scott, who flew over the area in a helicopter on Monday, described the damage in the Keys as ‘devastating’. Pictured above, Sailors aboard the Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) fill containers with water in preparation to support those affected by Hurricane Irma
Chief Naval Helicopter Aircrewman Matt Jirrels, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HSM HADR) detachment, comprised of Sailors from HSM-40 and HSM-46, participates in static hoist training aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) in preparation for potential humanitarian relief efforts
Sailors assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 46 and 40, comprising the Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HSM HADR) detachment, perform static hoist training aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) in preparation for potential humanitarian relief efforts in Florida following Hurricane Irma
The preparations ensure USS New York is ready to respond to any requests to bolster Northern Command’s support of Federal Emergency Management Agency’s assistance to federal, state and local authorities’ ongoing relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma
The USS New York is 684ft long, weight 24,900 tons and can travel up to 25mph. The ship has an Embarked Landing Force of 699 and a surge capacity of 800. It can carry a variety of ships and aircraft in numbers less than five.
The Army’s 101st Airborne Division soldiers have also been sent to Florida to help with relief and search and rescue efforts.
The 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st ABN DIV (AASLT), will relocate more than 370 personnel, 35 aircraft and 40 vehicles to the region.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by Hurricane Irma,’ said Col. Craig J. Alia, 101st CAB commander. ‘101 CAB isn’t waiting. We are leaning forward now, proactively positioning our personnel and equipment to help the American people if called forward to support.
‘Should local officials and emergency services need additional assets, we will be staged and prepared to go at a moment’s notice.’
The Navy has also dispatched two amphibious assault ships, the USS Iwo Jima (pictured in a file photo) and the USS New York, to help with recovery efforts
The USS Iwo Jima and USS New York (pictured in a file photo) homeported in Mayport, Florida, as they gathered supplies before supporting relief operations
The division has been preparing response forces since September 7.
Parts of Florida have inched back toward normal with workers restoring power, clearing roads and replenishing gas supplies, even as teams scoured the state’s southernmost islands and authorities warned of mass devastation.
Residents drifted back from shelters on Tuesday to see Hurricane Irma’s scattershot destruction. Flooded streets remained, and the count of damaged and totaled homes ticked upward even as some curfews were lifted and flights resumed.
As crews labored to repair the lone highway connecting the Keys, residents of some of the islands closest to Florida’s mainland were allowed to return and get their first look at the devastation two days after Irma roared in with 130 mph (209 kph) winds.
Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Brock Long said preliminary estimates suggested that 25 percent of the homes in the Keys were destroyed and 65 percent sustained major damage.
Scott, who flew over Florida in a helicopter on Monday, described overturned mobile homes, washed-ashore boats and rampant flood damage in the Keys and asked Floridians to be patient, warning that roads are impassable and that there are downed power lines
Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry, left, and Gov. Rick Scott, fly over Jacksonville, Florida, in a military helicopter as they look at damage along the the St. John’s River
Gov Rick Scott looks out the window of a C-130 as he looks at damage to the Florida Keys during the aftermath of Hurricane Irma
‘We’ve got a lot of work to do, but everybody’s going to come together,’ Florida Gov. Rick Scott said. ‘We’re going to get this state rebuilt.’
Glimpses of Irma’s economic toll were emerging, with Florida saying 31 state agencies had already amassed nearly $250 million in preparation and recovery expenses.
In the meantime, officials warily eyed storm damage to its citrus crops, an issue Sens Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio planned to address at a joint news conference Wednesday morning with growers.
The number of people without electricity in the steamy late-summer heat dropped to 9.5million – just under half of Florida’s population.
Utility officials warned it could take ten days or more for power to be fully restored. About 110,000 people remained in shelters across the state.
Overturned trailer homes are shown in a neighborhood in the Florida Keys left almost ocompletely wiped out by Hurricane Irma
In the Florida Keys, houses near the coast were left damaged by Hurricane Irma, including the one on the far left, which appears to have had its entire porch collapse
Rows of damaged houses are shown in the Florida Keys after Hurricane Irma ravaged the region over the weekend
Trees were ripped from the ground, and boats were knocked into one another near the damaged houses in the Florida Keys during Hurricane Irma
Houses on the show in the Florida Keys appeared to be knocked off their foundation and into the water in parts of the Florida Keys during Hurricane Irma. The homes are pictured above on Monday
While nearly all of Florida was engulfed by the 400-mile-wide (645-kilometer) storm, the Keys – home to about 70,000 people – appeared to be the hardest hit.
Drinking water and power were cut off, all three of the islands’ hospitals were closed, and the supply of gasoline was extremely limited.
Search-and-rescue teams have made their way into the more distant reaches of the Keys. Officials said it was not known how many people ignored evacuation orders and stayed behind in the Keys, but it could be up to 10,000.
Crews also worked to repair two washed-out, 300-foot (90-meter) sections of US 1, the only highway that runs through the Keys, and check the safety of the 42 bridges linking the islands.
Meanwhile, in the Caribbean, USS Wasp, USS Kearsage and USS Oak Hill are in the US Virgin Islands, where officials from the ships are transferring non-critical patients and delivering food and water.
The Department of Defense have sent approximately 10,000 personnel to the area to help with recovery efforts.
Meanwhile, in the Caribbean, USS Wasp, USS Kearsage and USS Oak Hill (pictured) are in the US Virgin Islands, where officials from the ships are transferring non-critical patients and delivering food and water