Key Largo, Florida (CNN) Heidi and Allan Neuzil grew frustrated Tuesday after waiting more than 14 hours for authorities to let them back in to the battered Florida Keys.

The parents of three boys were part of a large group of Keys residents awaiting permission to return to their homes and survey the damage wrought by Hurricane Irma.

"I just want to go home!" Allan Neuzil screamed at authorities from the side of the road.

He wasn't the only one exasperated enough to yell at police. Other residents joined him as officers directed traffic and vehicles at the front of the line jockeyed to get ahead of each other.

Heidi Neuzil broke down as she pondered the potential scene they'd find upon arriving in Key Largo.

"I don't know what we're going to do if we don't have a home," she asked. "Where will we go?"

'Oh my God, the roof!'

About 7 a.m. ET, police began letting residents back into the ravaged island chain. Upon leaving the Florida mainland, Key Largo is the first town in what is known as the Upper Keys, the easternmost third of the archipelago that includes Tavernier and Islamorada.

West of that, in the Middle and Lower Keys, rescue and recovery workers are working to clear roads and inspect bridges so that residents and business owners can return. But even in the Upper Keys, "water, power, sewer, fuel, medical service and cell service, are still limited," according to Monroe County. The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority was advising residents to boil their tap water, if they have any.

As the Neuzils made their way home in their pickup truck -- adorned with the yellow residency sticker that grants them and others access to the Keys -- Allan Neuzil pointed to a shipyard.

"Look, the dock is destroyed," he said.

Soon after, they arrived home to find their residence propping up five downed trees.

"Oh my God, the roof!" Heidi exclaimed, beginning to weep again. "The roof is cracked in the back of the house."

A closer look at the rear of the house revealed a morsel of good news: Only a small corner of the house had been breached by the trees and the powerful hurricane that blew them over. The Neuzils' boat was damaged as well, but it, too, had largely escaped Irma's battering. The hull remained intact.

"I'm just glad it's over," Allan Neuzil said.

Residents trickle home

JUST WATCHED Cuomo: Nothing left untouched in the Keys Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Cuomo: Nothing left untouched in the Keys 01:30

For most Florida Keys residents, recovery is far from over, and there's a one in four chance that those returning won't be able to live in what they come home to find. The Federal Emergency Management Agency estimates that 25% of houses on the archipelago are destroyed. About 65% are damaged, according to FEMA's initial figures.

Drone footage shows vehicles crawling down the southbound lanes of US 1, also known as the Overseas Highway. The 113-mile thoroughfare carries travelers from the southern tip of Florida over more than 40 bridges to Key West.

What awaits residents in the Middle and Upper Keys is unclear, but there are signs that Irma, which made its first US landfall on Cudjoe Key, about 20 miles east of Key West, was anything but merciful to the Conch Republic.

In Plantation Key, homes were ripped open like Christmas gifts. Furniture, sinks and toilets sat on the coral-filled ground alongside children's books and a bingo wheel. RVs lay on their sides in Sunshine Key. Boats lay beached next to homes and along the highway in Big Pine Key and in Marathon. The white tails of endangered Key deer, which normally stay on their refuge, were seen bobbing along US 1.

In Big Pine Key, which was cut off from the other islands by water and a large pole Monday, houses were seen smoldering. Footage from Key West's Old Town showed what resembled a river running through the streets, just a block from the bars that populate Duval Street.

The Atlantic Ocean side of the islands took the worst pounding. All along the coast, there were houses missing entire walls, swaths of their roofs peeled off like bandages. Concrete pillars that once propped up homes stood empty, propping up nothing.

Other houses looked as if the tide had washed everything out of them, leaving sand and ankle-deep seaweed in place of furniture.

Making contact

Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Children clean a dirty mattress from a flooded home in Immokalee, Florida, on Thursday, September 14. Hurricane Irma laid waste to beautiful Caribbean islands and caused historic destruction across Florida. The cleanup will take weeks; recovery will take months. Hide Caption 1 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida On September 14, President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and first lady Melania Trump hand out food to people impacted by Hurricane Irma in Naples, Florida. Hide Caption 2 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Debris litters the area around a group of homes in the Florida Keys on Wednesday, September 13. Hide Caption 3 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Lake County jail inmates fill sandbags in Astor, Florida, on September 13. Hide Caption 4 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A classic Volkswagen sits in floodwaters September 13 in Middleburg, Florida. Flooding from the Black Creek topped the previous high-water mark by about 7 feet. Hide Caption 5 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida James Wade checks for water-damaged items as floodwaters recede in Middleburg on September 13. Hide Caption 6 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Floodwaters surround vehicles in Callahan, Florida, on Tuesday, September 12. Hide Caption 7 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Jose Encarnacion pulls a chicken from a cage as he gathers belongings from his flooded house in Bonita Springs, Florida, on September 12. Hide Caption 8 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Joseph Dupuis III stacks boxes off the floor in his parents' water-logged apartment in Jacksonville, Florida, on September 12. Hide Caption 9 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Motorists in Estero, Florida, fill gas cans September 12, moments before police shut the station down because of a curfew. Hide Caption 10 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Mike Gilbert and his daughter Brooke embrace in front of a relative's destroyed condominium building in the Florida Keys on September 12. Hide Caption 11 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Members of the US Coast Guard operate in floodwaters during rescue missions in Hastings, Florida, on September 12. Hide Caption 12 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Waist-deep in floodwater, Shelly Hughes gets her first look at the inside of her camper in Arcadia, Florida, on September 12. Hide Caption 13 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida In the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, a house slides into the Atlantic Ocean in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, on Monday, September 11. Hide Caption 14 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Richard Shieldhouse maneuvers through storm-surge floodwaters in Jacksonville on September 11. Hide Caption 15 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Mario Valentine sits in his badly damaged home in Immokalee on September 11. Hide Caption 16 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Boats are partially submerged in Key Largo, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 17 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Chris Stokes works in the mud as he helps clean up damage to his father's convenience store in Everglades City, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 18 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Ashley Tomberg drags a tree branch from the roof of a neighbor's house in Gainesville, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 19 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Floodwaters inundate a car in Jacksonville on September 11. Hide Caption 20 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A crocodile appears at the Dinner Key Marina in Miami on September 11. Hide Caption 21 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida John Duke tries to salvage his flooded vehicle in Jacksonville on September 11. Hide Caption 22 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A van sits in a sinkhole that opened up in Winter Springs, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 23 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida People check out floodwaters at Jacksonville's Memorial Park on September 11. Hide Caption 24 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Kelly McClenthen and her boyfriend, Daniel Harrison, walk through floodwaters in Bonita Springs on September 11. Hide Caption 25 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A truck drives through a flooded street in Key Largo on September 11. Hide Caption 26 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A man walks by damage in Palm Shores, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 27 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Catharine Taylor Woods cleans up a broken awning outside her building in Wauchula, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 28 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida The roof of a home is damaged in Marco Island, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 29 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Rick Freedman checks damage to his neighbor's home in Marco Island on September 11. Hide Caption 30 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Boats are partially submerged in a marina in downtown Miami on September 11. Hide Caption 31 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida People step out of their flooded home in Fort Myers, Florida, on September 11. Hide Caption 32 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A felled tree blocks a street in downtown Miami on September 11. Hide Caption 33 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Irma damaged this gas station roof in Bonita Springs. Hide Caption 34 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Michele Snelling sleeps on couch cushions next to her 4-month-old daughter, Lauryn, at a middle school in St. Petersburg, Florida, on September 11. The school was filled with evacuees. Hide Caption 35 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Hotel guests navigate a dark stairwell after they lost power in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Hide Caption 36 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida People in Cape Coral, Florida, tend to a car that flipped over during Hurricane Irma on Sunday, September 10. Hide Caption 37 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A manatee lies stranded September 10 after waters receded during Irma's approach in Manatee County, Florida. Hide Caption 38 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida High winds split this large tree in half in Fort Lauderdale. Hide Caption 39 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida An American flag is torn as Irma passes through Naples on September 10. Hide Caption 40 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A sheriff's deputy walks through a shelter in Naples after the power went out on September 10. Hide Caption 41 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A police officer walks over debris after a tornado touched down in Palm Bay, Florida, on September 10. Hide Caption 42 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Yaya Lopez holds her fiance, Howard Lopez, while they sleep in a middle-school hallway in St. Petersburg on September 10. Hide Caption 43 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Geoff Rutland, a local volunteer from Crossing Jordan Church, helps other residents get ice from a vending machine in Tampa, Florida, on September 10. Hide Caption 44 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida PJ Pike checks on his boat and one belonging to a friend in Fort Myers. Both were sitting in mud at their moorings due to an unusually low tide on September 10. Hide Caption 45 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida People walk past a building in Miami where the roof was blown off by Hurricane Irma on September 10. Hide Caption 46 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida An abandoned car sits in floodwaters during a storm surge in Fort Lauderdale on September 10. Hide Caption 47 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Fallen trees block a parking lot in Fort Lauderdale on September 10. Hide Caption 48 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Sailboats moored near Watson Island ride out the winds and waves on September 10. Hide Caption 49 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Members of the Blinckman family use their personal devices in a stairwell utility closet as Hurricane Irma went over Key West, Florida, on September 10. Hide Caption 50 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Evacuees watch the weather from a shelter in Naples on September 10. Hide Caption 51 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Heavy winds and rain blow through Miami on September 10. Hide Caption 52 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Weather Channel meteorologist Mike Seidel fights fierce winds and flooded streets while reporting in Miami on September 10. Hide Caption 53 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A man records the gusty winds going through downtown Miami on September 10. Hide Caption 54 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida A tree lies on a pickup truck after being knocked down by the high winds in Miami on September 10. Hide Caption 55 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Hotel guests eat breakfast by lamplight after the Courtyard Marriott was left without power in Fort Lauderdale on September 10. Hide Caption 56 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida Part of this crane tower collapsed in Miami on September 10. Hide Caption 57 of 58 Photos: Hurricane Irma slams Florida People sit in the Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center as Irma approached Miami on Saturday, September 9. See Hurricane Irma's impact on the Caribbean Hide Caption 58 of 58

Yet there were signs that rescuers and other officials were making headway as the floodwaters abated and roads reopened.

Donning helmets and carrying flashlights and tools designed to lift and break up debris, the South Florida Urban Search and Rescue Team trod the Keys in the early morning hours Tuesday looking for victims. They were supported by the Florida National Guard and its aircraft, which were helping assess the damage, said Adjutant Gen. Mike Calhoun. Planes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration joined the effort.

On Big Pine Key, innkeeper and yacht captain Tim Marquis was assessing the damage at Barnacle Bed & Breakfast and Dive Resort early Monday. He and two others had ridden out the storm there. It's on the Atlantic side of the island, not far from where Irma made landfall.

When the storm hit, Marquis said, water came over the 14-foot-high patio at the inn he has called home since 1995.

"Actually in the middle of the hurricane, water was coming over that patio right there and right through here," he said from a common area inside the B&B.

Without power, water or communications since the weekend, Marquis had been incommunicado. Rescuers gave him a satellite phone to contact his wife, who sought refuge in Louisiana last week. It was before dawn. She didn't pick up.

"Hey, I guess you're probably asleep or something," Marquis said, leaving a message. "Some rescue guys came by so they've got a phone. I could call and let you know that we're OK, and we'll see you when you get ready to come back. And I'll call you as soon as we get cell phone service here. All right, love you. Talk to you later."

Ira Konkrate, another Big Pine resident, stopped to speak to CNN affiliate WFOR-TV as he searched for his brother.

"I'm going back up to one of my divisions where my brother's at. We haven't heard from him yet. I work at Winn-Dixie and that was our safe haven for our employees that stayed in the area, and he didn't show up," Konkrate said.

As Konkrate spoke to reporters, a man on a bicycle pulled up and told Konkrate he had hunkered down with his brother during the storm. His brother was safe, much to Konkrate's relief.

'Florida's calling'

JUST WATCHED See Irma's impact on the Florida Keys Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH See Irma's impact on the Florida Keys 01:12

As search teams continue to hunt for victims in the Lower Keys, it's clear Monroe County faces a daunting task. But things are already looking much better than they were Monday

Two 300-foot portions of the Overseas Highway on Lower Matecumbe and Bahia Honda keys were washed out by Irma's storm surge, but late Tuesday, Florida transportation officials said they had inspected all the bridges along US 1 and repaired two stretches of the highway. The bridges and US 1 are safe to travel, but are limited to first responders, officials said.

Airports in Key West and Marathon, as well as at Naval Air Station Key West, are now operational and receiving emergency resources. Commercial flights remain suspended, however.

The three main hospitals, in Tavernier, Marathon and Key West, remain closed but "are working quickly to be able to receive patients," according to the county. Three air ambulances are expected to return to Monroe County from Alabama on Tuesday.

At Orlando International Airport, 31 medical specialists, including doctors, nurses and pharmacists, loaded two Coast Guard C-17s with medical supplies, all-terrain vehicles and boats before heading to Key West with about rescue teams and law enforcement officers, said Jason McDonald, spokesman for the US Department of Health and Human Services.

As team leader Toby Clairmont gathered responders together before loading the planes, he told them, "We're here. Florida's calling. There's trouble in the Keys."

Shelters are being opened across the Keys, and officials are establishing distribution points where residents can pick up food and water. Among them: Key West Sears Town Plaza, the Sugarloaf School on Summerland Key, Marathon High School and the National Wildlife Refuge on Big Pine Key.

"Monroe County is working quickly to restore services and make the county safe for residents and business owners in the Middle and Lower Keys to return, but this will take time," the county said in a news release.