Hurricane Idalia slammed into Florida as a terrifying Category 3 storm Wednesday morning, ripping roofs off homes and submerging entire neighborhoods before hitting Georgia and sending residents scrambling for shelter.
The historic storm surge began in Florida’s sparsely populated Big Bend region at 7:45 a.m., knocking down power lines, unmoored boats and driving debris as water levels rose 9 feet in just two hours.
“Everything is unraveling,” said Belond Thomas of hard-hit Perry, Florida.
Thomas and his family move into an outback motel to weather the storm — but don’t venture far enough.
The roof of the building finally came off, showering the huddled clan with debris.
“It’s scary,” he said. “Things are moving so fast. Everything revolves.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, at least 500,000 residents remained without power across Florida and Georgia as line crews raced across the two states to repair the damage.
Homes are damaged on Florida’s Horseshoe Beach by Hurricane Idalia on August 30, 2023. Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire
A car drives through a flooded street in Tampa. Photo by MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images
Idalia has been downgraded to a tropical storm as it heads toward the coast near the Carolinas.NOAA
Satellite images show Idalia back out to sea early Thursday morning.NOAA
Officials say at least two people have died in vehicle crashes as a north Florida storm rages, with winds of up to 125 mph creating chaos on the roads.
A 59-year-old Gainesville man was killed after he went into a ditch and crashed into a tree line, highway patrol officials reported.
In Pasco County, a 40-year-old man was driving his pickup truck “too fast for conditions” and lost control due to “bad weather,” authorities said.
A tree fell from the storm in Tallahassee.AP Photo/Phil Sears
A boat washed ashore in the town of Jena near Keaton Beach.CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A man wades in the water in North Myrtle Beach, SC Wednesday night.AP
“Don’t put your life at risk by doing something stupid at this point,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Wednesday morning. “This thing is powerful. If you’re inside, just crouch until it passes you.”
DeSantis said he had activated 5,500 National Guard troops and 30,000 utility workers ahead of the potentially “catastrophic” Idalia landing.
‘Try to swallow us’
Cedar Key Islander Michael Bobbitt told the BBC on Wednesday morning that Idalia – the biggest hurricane to hit the area in more than a century – had hit much of his town’s commercial centre.
“Our whole downtown is under water,” he said. “Parts of the entire hotel just broke off and went into the Gulf. It’s like the Gulf is trying to swallow us.”
A man sweeps floodwaters out of a shop in Crystal River.Getty Images
A car plunged into floodwaters in North Myrtle Beach on Wednesday.AP
The system also canceled travel plans for thousands of fliers as airports closed ahead of the hurricane’s approach, leading to massive cancellations in Florida and Georgia.
Idalia weakened before hitting Florida’s capital, Tallahassee but still managed to knock out power to thousands of people.
DeSantis said his wife, first lady Casey Desantis, called him as the storm hit to tell him that a large oak tree had split in two and crashed into the governor’s home during the flood.
“Mason, Madison, Mamie and I were in the house at the time, but thankfully no one was hurt,” she wrote on X alongside a photo of the downed tree.
A house is destroyed after Idalia wreaked havoc through Keaton Beach, Florida on Wednesday.AP
Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a news conference in Perry after Idalia hit Florida.CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
President Biden – who partly blamed the storm on worsening climate conditions – said he had spoken with DeSantis and promised to provide “her with everything she could possibly need.”
The governor said that there were reports of robberies in Steinhatchie in Taylor County, warning would-be thieves that local gun owners would soon exercise their Second Amendment rights.
Florida Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie said search and rescue squads are responding to residents trapped in hard-hit areas — but no casualties are expected.
“They are 100% OK,” he said. “We will contact them as soon as we can get our emergency access team to them.”
A flooded neighborhood near Keaton Beach.AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell
A man walks through floodwater near his home in Jena.CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Downgraded to a tropical storm
After hitting Tallahassee, Idalia exited the Sunshine State and rolled into Georgia as a weak Category 1 hurricane, blasting the southern part of the state with strong winds and rain.
The system eventually weakened to a 70 mph tropical storm early Wednesday afternoon, according to an advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
A child paddles down a flooded road at St. Pete.Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via AP
Officials warned that Idalia could still cause a storm surge in Georgia and the Carolinas through Thursday.
With parts of the Sunshine State still grappling with the deadly effects of Hurricane Ian, Florida officials worry that Idalia could plunge other areas into prolonged chaos.
But DeSantis said late Wednesday that the system’s impact could be worse.
‘The storm was moving a little bit faster than some of the others were moving,” he said. “Some of these things just dump water when they’re moving so slowly. This one is a little bit faster. When you’re talking about flooding, it’s a little bit better when it’s slower. .”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has warned that unusually high ocean temperatures could lead to a much worse 2023 hurricane season than originally predicted.
Additional reporting by Isabel Keane
By Postal Wire
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
