a total monetary damage figure of $1.3 billion. In addition to its effects over land, Elena also affected offshore interests. When a cargo ship close to the hurricane's center rolled in high seas on August 29, two unsecured storage containers collided, crushing a man to death. An oil platform operated by Exxon and anchored off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, was ripped from its moorings and reported missing on September 2. The oil rig drifted away before it was spotted by a Coast Guard aircraft. Exxon previously evacuated the platform after rough seas snapped the first two of its eight anchoring cables. Damage was reported on four other offshore platforms, and a oil pipeline broke during the hurricane at an estimated cost of $1.6 million (the same pipeline broke two more times during the 1985 hurricane season). A large aspect of the hurricane's devastation was the havoc it wrought on the eastern Gulf of Mexico oyster industry, particularly in the Apalachicola Bay area and off the coast of Alabama. Elena subjected the Apalachicola Bay reefs to high winds, strong tidal action, and moderate to heavy rainfall, churning up huge quantities of silt and mud which suffocated up to 90% of live oysters and virtually destroyed the most important harvesting sites. Commercial harvesting was suspended until May 1986, at which time some of the prominent reefs of the eastern Apalachicola Bay system were deemed able to sustain oyster-catching. Low astronomical tides amplified the effects of severe turbulence in the water. Thousands of individuals relying on the Apalachicola Bay oyster industry soon found themselves struggling to make a living; losses in production at two major reefs were expected to surpass $30 million. All of Alabama's major reefs were affected by the hurricane, and its most productive was nearly destroyed. The problem was later confounded in November by Hurricane Kate, which, according to the National Hurricane Center, "[dealt] the final blow" to certain oyster beds. Florida The storm began affecting Florida late on August 28 and early on August 29. In Key West, on the east side of Elena's strengthening center, wind gusts exceeded , accompanied by of rain and higher-than-normal tides. Several boats washed ashore at Smathers Beach. Similarly adverse conditions occurred throughout rest of the Keys and across the southern Florida Peninsula; 60 mph (100 km/h) wind gusts and modest rainfall stretched as far east as the Miami area. Easterly winds