South-Carolina
Tropical Storm Idalia Reaches South Carolina After Barreling Through Florida And Georgia
Topline
At least two people have died as a result of dangerous conditions from Idalia, which made landfall Wednesday morning on Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 major hurricane, though the storm was downgraded to a tropical storm before it plowed through Georgia and reached South Carolina this evening.
Palm trees at Clearwater Harbor after Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane.
Key Facts
Idalia was downgraded to a tropical storm Wednesday afternoon before reaching South Carolina with sustained winds of 65 mph as of 8 p.m., according to the National Hurricane Center.
A 40-year-old man in Florida, whose name has not been publicly identified, died in Pasco County—north of Tampa—early Wednesday morning, after losing control of his vehicle while driving in the hurricane, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers said a 59-year-old man from Gainesville, Florida, was also killed on Wednesday after veering into a ditch and hitting a tree while driving, local ABC affiliate WCJR reported.
Mike Carballa, the administrator of Pasco County, Florida (north of Tampa) told CNN on Wednesday that between 4,000 and 6,000 homes were damaged with up to five feet of floodwater that inundated the area on Wednesday, while in Manatee County—south of St. Petersburg—officials estimate damage is upwards of $2 million.
At least 16 buildings were damaged and 46 roads blocked in Leon County, Florida—which includes Tallahassee—the Tallahasee Democrat reported.
Videos and photos of the storm show widespread flooding and coastal damage from the storm, which inundated the runways at Tampa International Airport, caused roof damage in Perry, Florida, flooded a major highway and downed trees and ripped homes and storefronts apart along the Gulf Coast.
In a strange phenomenon, intense storm surge from Idalia reversed Florida’s Steinhatchee River, tearing sailboats from their moorings and driving them upriver, where their masts were snapped as they collided with a bridge.
Idalia has also wreaked havoc on storefronts and mobile homes, and in Valdosta, Georgia, caused an electrical transformer to explode, as the storm crossed into Georgia as a Category 1 storm.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis—who is married to Gov. Ron DeSantis—said the storm toppled a 100-year-old oak tree onto the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee, adding nobody was hurt in the incident.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) urged residents in coastal areas to prepare emergency kits and heed warnings about the storm.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, meanwhile, pleaded with residents not to loot in the aftermath of the storm, warning in a press conference that “people have a right to defend their property” and adding that in “this part of Florida, you’ve got a lot of advocates and some proponents of the 2nd Amendment.”
What To Watch Fort
The NWS said “nearly half of hurricane fatalities occur after the storm” in a post on X Wednesday evening, urging those affected to be aware of post-hurricane hazards like downed power lines and to only return home from an evacuation when directed to.
Big Number
More than 425,000. That’s how many homes and businesses in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina lacked power as of 8 p.m. on Wednesday, according to outage tracker poweroutage.us. That includes about 190,000 in Florida—down from over 250,000 earlier Wednesday—as well as 203,000 in Georgia and 35,000 in South Carolina.
Contra
DeSantis said in a press conference ahead of Idalia’s landfall that more than 100,000 households that had lacked power had since been restored Wednesday morning. Roughly 25,000 workers and first responders had been mobilized in the state in preparation for the hurricane, the Tallahassee Democrat reported on Tuesday.
Key Background
Residents in more than two dozen counties along the Florida Gulf Coast were issued mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders on Tuesday, as Idalia barreled toward the Sunshine State after making initial landfall in Cuba. Idalia was a stunning reminder of Hurricane Ian just 11 months ago, which took a remarkably similar path over the Gulf of Mexico, making landfall south of Tampa as a Category 4 hurricane and wreaking havoc along Florida’s shoreline, becoming Florida’s deadliest storm in nearly 90 years. Like Ian, Idalia strengthened as it approached the Florida Gulf Coast, making landfall in the state’s Big Bend Region, southeast of Tallahassee, carrying maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and bringing “catastrophic impacts,” including storm surge up to 16 feet and “life-threatening winds,” according to the National Hurricane Center.
Further Reading
Hurricane Idalia Strengthens To Category 2: Here Are The Evacuation Orders And Closures In Effect As Storm Nears Florida Landfall (Forbes)
Hurricane Idalia Makes Landfall In Florida’s Big Bend As Category 3 Storm (Forbes)