After lashing Florida with 125-mph winds and flooding homes, Tropical Storm Idalia breached South Carolina’s defenses and sent tides soaring to new records, leaving streets flooded in its wake.
The storm arrived in the Palmetto State late Wednesday after making landfall earlier in the day in Florida’s Big Bend region.
It has been blamed for at least three deaths in Florida and Georgia.
Idalia was downgraded from a Category 3 hurricane to a tropical storm as it headed north from Florida through Georgia and into South Carolina throughout the day — but its arrival in the state coincided with a high king tide, resulting in a breach of Charleston’s famous Battery district, known for his antebellum home.
Knee-high water along the road that lines the area.
Tropical Storm Idalia breached South Carolina’s defenses and sent water surging to a new record.via REUTERS
Idalia was downgraded from a Category 3 hurricane to a tropical storm as it headed toward South Carolina.AFP via Getty Images
Knee-high water along a road in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.AP
Nearly 30,000 people across South Carolina remained without power Thursday morning, as Idalia moved north.
Meanwhile, more than 100,000 Georgians and nearly 150,000 Floridians reported their power was still out as crews in those states began cleanup efforts.
Idalia made landfall on Florida’s Keaton Beach around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, bringing with it 125-mph winds.
A man wades down Sea Mountain Highway in North Myrtle Beach on Wednesday.AP
A car plunged into floodwaters on Ocean Boulevard in North Myrtle Beach.AP
Idalia was downgraded to a tropical storm when it reached South Carolina on Wednesday night. @AnneTEmerson / WCIV ABC News 4
After battering Florida and Georgia with strong winds and heavy rain, the storm’s center moved about 20 miles southwest of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Wednesday night.
As it arrived, the tide level in Charleston Harbor reached more than 9.23 feet, according to the National Weather Service – the fifth highest tide since records began in 1921.
Warnings have been issued for storm surges of up to 4 feet.
Nearly 30,000 people across South Carolina remained without power Thursday morning as Idalia moved north.CharlestonPD/Twitter
Part of a roof strewn across the Hog Inlet canal in North Myrtle Beach, SC.AP
The storm was downgraded to a tropical storm at that point but still produced 60-mph winds.
The strong winds forced two drift boats, a sailboat and a blue houseboat, to collide with the US-17 bridge that connects downtown Charleston to West Ashley, the Post and Courier reported.
Police Capt. Jason Bruder said authorities are aware that several boats have been reported floating in Charleston’s waterways, but said the police department cannot use its own watercraft until the situation calms down.
Idalia’s arrival in the state coincided with the king’s high tide, resulting in the breaching of Charleston’s famous Battery district, known for its antebellum homes. @TrooperBob_SC / ABCnews4
The center of the storm was located about 20 miles southwest of Myrtle Beach.AP
Knee-high water in streets around Charleston’s famous Battery district.@thekatiebyrne/ Twitter/ FOX Weather
The Department of Natural Resources is responsible for recovering the loose boats and will lead efforts to recover them, he added.
Early Wednesday, a tornado ripped through South Carolina ahead of the storm, knocking a car onto its roof, leaving two people with minor injuries.
The black sedan was driving through heavy rain near Goose Creek, on the outskirts of Charleston, just after 2:30 p.m. when the spinner lifted its two rear wheels and spun them on its hood.
Soon, the two front wheels of the vehicle were also in the air before the car crashed into another vehicle.
Still, state officials said they were spared Idalia’s wrath.
The National Weather Service canceled tropical storm and storm surge warnings for much of coastal South Carolina, including Charleston and communities farther south, at 2 a.m. Thursday.
But as of 5 a.m., Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand remained under both warnings until later in the day.
The situation was much worse in northern Florida, where one resident said, “Everything is broken.”
Belond Thomas of Perry — a small town inland from Big Bend — said he and his family fled to a local motel, thinking it was safer than riding out the storm at home.
Beach communities in Charleston remained underwater Thursday morning.Katie Byrne / FOX Weather
The National Weather Service canceled tropical storm and storm surge warnings for much of coastal South Carolina early Thursday. Charleston County Sheriff’s Office
The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office tweeted this photo of the flooding Wednesday evening and urged people to stay off the roads.
Idalia heads for North Carolina before it exits the ocean.NOAA
But the roof at the motel was ripped off by strong winds, and debris fell on his pregnant daughter.
Several homes throughout the area also remained under water Thursday morning, even as the floodwaters began to recede.
Hurricane Idalia hits Florida: Here’s what you need to know
Hurricane Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach in Taylor County, Florida, as a dangerous Category 3 storm early Wednesday, August 30, 2023. The storm was briefly a Category 4 storm with winds reaching 125 mph. Idalia was the strongest storm to hit the Big Bend region since 1896.
Hurricane Idalia has hit Florida.
A woman wades through Florida floodwaters after Hurricane Idalia hit. Getty Images
- Two Florida men have died as a result of Hurricane Idalia’s fury.
- Nearly 270,000 Floridians are without power as a result of the storm.
- Several cities hit record water levels as a result of the storm, Idalia pushed water up to 8.9 feet in Cedar Key.
- Florida has been battered by strong winds, reaching over 80 mph in some cities, heavy rains and flooding.
- National Weather Service officials warned some areas “may be uninhabitable for weeks or months.”
- The areas most affected include Taylor and Dixie counties.
Idalia was the strongest storm to hit the region in 125 years. AFP via Getty Images
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in 46 counties.
- Hundreds of flights were delayed or canceled as a result of the storm.
- Thousands of National Guard troops were deployed.
- More than 40 school districts across the state have canceled classes.
- Idalia weakened to a Category 2 storm by 9 am
In Pasco County, north of Tampa, about 6,000 homes were “flooded,” officials said.
“Most of the ones we’re seeing have major damage,” Laura Wilcoxen, the county’s assistant director of emergency management, told CNN.
“We have at least 18 inches or more that have entered this house.”
More than 30,000 utility workers are trying to repair damaged power lines and poles in the Sunshine State, and Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Purdue said more than 700 crews are using heavy equipment to reopen roads, inspect bridges and restore power to traffic lights.
A person is seen walking on the beach, pulling debris from the shoreline after Tropical Storm Idalia on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023, in North Myrtle Beach, SC. AP
The tide level in Charleston Harbor reached more than 9.23 feet, according to the National Weather Service — the fifth-highest tide since records began in 1921. AP
At the same time, state officials, more than 5,000 National Guardsmen and rescue crews are conducting search and rescue operations.
City search and rescue personnel have screened about 75% of the storm-hit area, Florida Division of Emergency Management executive director Kevin Guthrie said at a news conference Wednesday night.
A second search will begin for the most affected areas to “make sure that the area has been cleared and that no one is there.”
People ride through a flooded road near the Steinhatchee marina after Hurricane Idalia hit Steinhatchee, Florida.AFP via Getty Images
Burning debris remains where a house stood after a transformer explosion in the Signal Cove community in Hudson, Florida, following the storm.AFP via Getty Images
“We didn’t find anyone at home,” Guthrie said. “Many, many people are heeding warnings to evacuate and we have, so far, not had any reports of … deaths related to any drowning or any flooding.”
The three deaths linked to the storm so far involve two car crashes in Florida and one death after a fallen tree struck a resident in Georgia.
Still, in Florida’s Citrus County, Sheriff Mike Prendergast told CNN the effects of the hurricane will continue “for a long time.”
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