Steinhatchee (United States) (AFP) – Idalia slammed into northwest Florida as an “extremely dangerous” hurricane early Wednesday, buffeting coastal communities with cascades of water as officials warned of catastrophic flooding in parts of the southern US state.
Authorities described Idalia and its potentially deadly high surging waters as a once-in-a-lifetime event for the area most affected, ordering mass evacuations.
While there were no immediately confirmed deaths, Florida officials warned it could take time to reach more remote areas blocked by fallen trees or high water, particularly given the area where the hurricane made landfall.
Idalia struck as an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 hurricane in Florida’s marshy, sparsely populated Big Bend area around 7:45 am (1145 GMT), the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported.
The storm came ashore packing maximum sustained winds of approximately 125 miles per hour (215 kph) near the community of Keaton Beach, with a possible storm surge of up to 16 feet (about five meters) in some coastal areas, it said.
Though Idalia lost strength and became a Category 1 storm as it moved inland and over Georgia, authorities warned residents of the aftermath, and the dangers of high tide.
The NHC said water levels were more than six feet above normal in Cedar Key, a string of islands jutting into the Gulf, and warned that waters along the coast were rising rapidly.
Resident Shely Boivin, who manages the community’s Beach Front Motel, fled before the storm’s arrival, telling CNN that “everything is floating.”
“Everything is flooded.I’ve seen pictures of the tide coming in, the water is just — it’s everywhere,” she said, noting that high tide was still yet to come.
In the small coastal town of Steinhatchee about 20 miles south of Idalia’s landfall, streets were mostly deserted and the main road was totally flooded.
Patrick Boland, 73, who was out for a walk surveying the damage, said: “It was a little windy, the trees were coming down in my front yard, but other than that, the house is fine.”
– Speedy storm –
In the Tampa Bay area — a major metropolitan zone of some three million people — streets were submerged and flood waters swept across yards.
Just north in the city of Tarpon Springs, people waded, or even canoed, to safety as homes and apartments were inundated.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told a press conference that Idalia moved faster than some of the more disastrous hurricanes to hit the state in which the eye of the storm idled along the coastline, causing death and severe destruction.
More than 265,000 customers in Florida and 105,000 in Georgia were without electricity as of 1:30 pm, according to tracking website PowerOutage.us.
President Joe Biden was due to deliver remarks later in the day on Idalia.
The White House said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had prepositioned emergency personnel and resources.
“Idalia is the strongest storm…to make landfall in this part of Florida in over 100 years,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told a White House press conference.
– Airports, ports closed –
Governor DeSantis had urged residents of 23 counties along Florida’s Gulf coast to evacuate and head to shelters or hotels outside the danger zones.
Meteorologists, meanwhile, say a rare blue supermoon could further raise tides above normal levels on top of Idalia’s effects on the coastline.
Tampa International Airport, which closed as Idalia approached, announced that it would reopen as of 4:00 pm.
Several Florida ports additionally closed to vessel traffic as Idalia approached, according to the US Coast Guard.
– ‘Marine heat wave’ –
In Cuba, the storm flooded several communities including parts of the capital Havana and knocked out power to about 200,000 people but there were no deaths reported.
The storm then moved out over the Gulf of Mexico, which scientists say is experiencing a “marine heat wave” — energizing Idalia’s winds as it raced towards Florida.
Record-breaking temperatures off the Florida coast are expected to amplify Atlantic storms this season, with scientists blaming human-caused climate change for the overall warming trend.
Hotter sea surfaces impart more energy on the air above them, packing more punch into the winds of passing storms.
“These storms are intensifying so fast that our local emergency management officials have less time to warn and evacuate and get people to safety,” Criswell told the Wednesday press conference.
Almost 150 people were killed last year when Hurricane Ian slammed Florida’s west coast as a Category 4 storm, bringing ocean surges and strong winds that downed bridges and swept away buildings.
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