Key West House Hurricane Wilma
"It appears that Hurricane Wilma seriously damaged the Real World Key West house. The morning after Hurricane Wilma passed north of Key West (Monday), a 6-7 foot storm surge from the Gulf of Mexico flooded Key Haven and other low-lying neighborhoods in the Lower Florida Keys. Residents homes were inundated with sea water, and automobiles on the street were ruined by the windshield level saltwater. And nearly as quickly as it came it, it receded back in to the ocean. What it left in it's wake is breathtaking. Entire households' furniture was soaked and ruined, flooring buckled, and nearly everything was out of place. A drive through the area clearly showed the damage - with piles of furniture, rugs, mattresses, and other possessions deposited in front of nearly every home. The Real World house, had its stylized gate ripped free, and left lying by the road. The mailbox, a statue of a manatee, was stained with mud and had a hand-written message propped in front of it. It read, "Security guard 'Manny' on duty!". The house is still boarded up, with it's aluminum hurricane shutters in place. There is no sign of anyone there. The house has a pool in the foyer. With the sea-water flooding the house, I can only imagine what that looks like now. My guess is that Bunim-Murray/MTV temporarily lost their ability to film there due to the extensive electrical, lighting, and other systems vulnerable to the water."
In this picture, you can see the damaged south driveway gate after being ripped from its hinges lying next to the street. At the end of the street, a pile of ruined furniture sits in front of a neighbor’s house.
The mailbox was actually a manatee statue. In the aftermath of the Hurricane, a sign resting on the mailbox in front of the north driveway notifies the public of the security guard patrolling the abandoned House.
Photo Credits: keywestchronicle.blogspot.com
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Updated - August 24, 2006