Deaths as Hurricane Idalia smashes Florida, Georgia

Astounding images and tales of survival have emerged from the trail of destruction left behind after a category three hurricane smashed the US.

‘Extremely dangerous’ Hurricane Idalia makes landfall on Florida coast

Hurricane Idalia, which made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend near Keaton Beach just before 8 am local time brining with it maximum sustained winds of 201 km/h winds, has been linked to the deaths of three.

The storm has flooded streets, closed airports and canceled flights, as well as caused widespread power outages.

Governor Ron DeSantis Gives Hurricane Response Update From Tallahassee Florida https://t.co/P9WEXbfSoa

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) August 30, 2023

Hurricane Idalia making landfall in Florida on August 30, 2023. (Photo by Handout / NOAA/GOES / AFP)

Idalia is now a tropical storm after it briefly reached Category 4 hurricane status overnight.

Storm surge warnings and watches have been ended for Florida as what’s left of the storm system moved into Georgia and South Carolina.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect for parts of the Savannah River and two North Carolina sounds.

Astounding images and tales of survival have emerged from the trail of destruction left behind in Florida.

Aftermath

The hot Florida sunshine is broken by a gentle breeze, carrying with it salty sea air.

But the mood is anything but idyllic as the town of Keaton Beach assesses the damage from Hurricane Idalia, which left overturned trees and destroyed homes in its wake after making landfall nearby Wednesday morning.

People work to clear I-10 of fallen trees after Hurricane Idalia passed near Madison, Florida. Picture: Sean Rayford/Getty Image

“I think we fared very well compared to our neighbour friends who are missing part of their roof,” Laurie Brenner, 52, told AFP while returning home after evacuating ahead of the storm.

“We have siding damage, but so far, I’m glad to see the house is still standing.

“This is just depressing - But we are still here, and we will get through it.”

The storm made landfall at Keaton Beach, Florida as a category 3 hurricane. Picture: Sean Rayford

Consisting of little more than two narrow streets and a canal, Keaton Beach, in the northwest of the state, is near ground zero of where Idalia landed after traversing the Gulf of Mexico.

As Idalia, which weakened to a tropical storm later Wednesday, continues to dump rain and cause flooding across the southeastern United States, residents who left are trickling back. The state of Florida is only just starting to put together the total cost of the wreckage.

In Keaton Beach, that destruction included an office with a single wall still standing, or a home missing its entire second story, the interior exposed like a dollhouse. Overturned mattresses suggest it once could have been a three-bedroom.

According to news reports, at least three people were killed in Idalia-related incidents.

Hundreds of thousands of customers lost power.

Water as far as the eye can see! #Idalia Cedar Key, FL pic.twitter.com/7D6rXfMMax

— Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) August 30, 2023

‘Like a beast’

AFP reports that 35 kilometres north, in Perry, Idalia’s winds took down trees and power lines and damaged the facades of houses and stores.

Residents were out and about Wednesday removing fallen branches from their yards as emergency services prepared to clear the streets.

Still, many were relieved that the damage wasn’t worse.

“I was sleeping beside a bedroom window, and it was just so loud. It was like a beast,” says James Strawter, who spent the night in his parents’ Perry home.

A vehicle that crashed after hitting a fallen tree sits in a gully after Hurricane Idalia crossed the state on August 30, 2023 in Perry, Florida. Picture: Sean Rayford Getty Images via AFP

“I feel relieved now that everything is over and that people can try to slowly get back to their normal life,” he adds, his own home having been spared.

In Steinhatchee, 60 kilometres to the southeast, Idalia left numerous streets flooded in the town of 1,000, which straddles the mouth a river emptying into the Gulf.

The town has sprung back to life: Neighbors rode through the streets in a golf cart while others stopped to take a picture of a mobile home overturned by the howling winds.

The long road to recovery has already started, as clean-ups and power line repairs take off.

Deaths as Hurricane Idalia smashes Florida, Georgia

Idalia roared across Florida Wednesday as a dangerous and powerful hurricane, bringing potentially catastrophic storm surge to coastal communities and knocking out power to thousands as the storm swept through the southeastern United States.

As it barreled into neighbouring Georgia, Idalia weakened to a tropical storm that nevertheless was drenching the region with up to 25cm of rain and bringing life-threatening inundations from rising water moving inland, officials said.

A fire is seen as flood waters inundate Tarpon Springs after Hurricane Idalia passed offshore on August 30, 2023. (Photo by JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

They described Idalia and its potentially deadly high-surging waters as a once-in-a-lifetime event for the area of northwest Florida most affected.

State officials said first responders, including search and rescue teams, were operational but warned it could take time to reach more remote areas blocked by fallen trees or high water.

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 crashed ashore, packing maximum sustained winds of approximately 215kms per hour near the community of Keaton Beach, with a possible storm surge of up to 16 feet (about five meters) in some coastal areas, the NHC said.

County Sheriff patrol the street in Steinhatchee, Florida on August 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)

Though Idalia weakened to a Category 1 hurricane and eventually a tropical storm with 70 miles per hour winds as it moved 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 average in Cedar Key, a string of Florida islands jutting into the Gulf of Mexico, and warned coastal waters were rising rapidly.

Mass evacuations were ordered for thousands of Floridians, although many defied authorities and hunkered down.

Emergency crews were already cleaning up in Perry, a small town in Idalia’s path, and residents who stayed behind were assessing the impact.

John Kallschmidt, 76, struggled to push aside a pine tree that fell on the roof of his small wooden house.

“It got pretty scary with all the trees blowing over and coming down,” he told AFP.

Idalia’s progress at 9am Florida time. Picture: Fox News.

“But it’s the way it is. It’s life in Florida. You have to get accustomed to this kind of thing.” In coastal Steinhatchee, about 20 miles south of Idalia’s landfall, streets were mostly deserted, while the flooded main road appeared as an extension of the town’s river.

Patrick Boland, 73, who was out surveying damage, said: “It was a little windy, the trees were coming down in my front yard, but other than that, the house is fine.”

Storm of the century

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had urged residents of 23 counties along Florida’s Gulf coast to evacuate and head to shelters or hotels outside the danger zones.

The US presidential candidate said the hurricane was on track to be the strongest to impact the region in more than a century.

100 year old oak tree falls on the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee — Mason, Madison, Mamie and I were home at the time, but thankfully no one was injured.

Our prayers are with everyone impacted by the storm. pic.twitter.com/l6MOE8wNMC

— Casey DeSantis (@CaseyDeSantis) August 30, 2023

More than 250,000 customers in Florida were without electricity as of 10am local time.

“Very few people can survive being in the path of a major storm surge, and this storm will be deadly if we don’t get out of harm’s way and take it seriously,” said FEMA’s Ms Criswell.

Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey said Wednesday on NBC’s Today show, “The time to evacuate has come and gone. It is time to shelter in place.”

‘You loot, we shoot’

Following reports detailing incidents of looting in the coastal Gulf community Steinhatchee, Governor Ron DeSantis has issued a firm warning to potential criminals, indicating that they could face dire consequences if caught in the act.

Addressing the issue during a press conference, DeSantis emphasised the strong affinity for the Second Amendment held by many residents in this part of Florida.

“This region has a significant number of individuals who firmly support and advocate for the Second Amendment,” he said.

“In the past, after similar disasters, I’ve come across signs in people’s yards that essentially convey the message: “You loot, we shoot.”

“The element of uncertainty should be a deterrent in itself; you can never predict what lies behind that door,”

Offering a stark cautionary note to potential wrongdoers, DeSantis continued, “If you choose to break into someone’s home with the intention to loot, remember that you are dealing with individuals who are fully capable of protecting both themselves and their families. Engaging in such actions would be unwise.”