Idalia roared into the Sunshine State as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday morning, flooding homes, felling trees and downing power lines before barreling across neighboring Georgia as well as South and North Carolina.
Keith Randall was clearing dozens of water-damaged items out of his home decor store in the town of Crystal River on Thursday.
"It hit us pretty good inside," the 52-year-old, who lives some 100 miles south of the site of the hurricane's landfall, told AFP.
"Anything on the floors got ruined. We are getting rid of all the cardboard that was in here. Lots of stuff was on the walls, but it's all good, it's just a lot of cleanup," he said.
The town was inundated with approximately 9 feet (2.7 meters) of storm surge after Idalia plunged into the "Big Bend" region where the Florida peninsula curves into the United States.
President Joe Biden said Thursday he will visit the affected area this weekend.
While there were no immediately confirmed deaths, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told a press conference that some 40 rescues had been made.
Mass evacuations were ordered earlier for thousands of Floridians -- although many defied authorities and hunkered down.
- 'Significant damage' -
The main task ahead remained assessing the damage and clearing debris.
"There has been significant damage, particularly along Florida's Big Bend, but the community is resilient," DeSantis said.
Around 117,000 customers in Florida and 86,000 in Georgia were without electricity Thursday afternoon, according to tracking website PowerOutage.us.
DeSantis said that 420,000 accounts had already been restored.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency deployed more than 1,000 emergency personnel to the disaster zone.
"Idalia is the strongest storm... to make landfall in this part of Florida in over 100 years," FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said Wednesday.
Tropical storm conditions were still being felt in North Carolina as of Thursday afternoon, according to the US National Hurricane Center, as Idalia left the US mainland and swirled outward into the Atlantic.
According to the NHC, Idalia was expected to slow further as it approaches Bermuda over the weekend, where residents were advised to monitor its progress.
Before arriving in the United States, Idalia dealt a glancing blow to Cuba before moving 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 Florida are expected to amplify Atlantic storms this season, with scientists blaming human-caused climate change for the overall warming trend.
It's 'part of living here,' say residents of flooded Florida town
Crystal River, United States (AFP) Aug 31, 2023 -
Miriam Butler looked out at a flooded street in Crystal River, northwest Florida, where an abandoned car stood semi-submerged in the murky waters.
The 82-year said she was tired, and hadn't yet summoned the strength to inspect the damage that Hurricane Idalia inflicted on her small landscaping business.
"I know the water got inside and ruined everything for me," said the native Honduran who has lived in Florida for more than 30 years.
"I'm an old lady, I've worked so hard and these storms leave you so frustrated," she told AFP.
The wind caused little damage here, unlike the area where the hurricane first hit the coast, some 105 miles (170 kilometers) to the north. Rooftops are intact and the trees lining the streets are still standing.
Flooding was always the risk in Crystal River, which lies on an estuary where spring-fed rivers mix with the saltwaters of the Gulf of Mexico.
On Wednesday as Idalia roared ashore, a storm surge reached heights of eight feet 10 inches (2.7 meters) in parts of this coastal town of 3,400 inhabitants.
Several streets here were still choked with water Thursday, and residents who evacuated were returning to their homes or stores to check the impact of the storm.
- Sandbags and duct tape -
For many in Crystal River there was a singular path forward -- put on gloves and get to work cleaning up.
Michael Curry, who owns a roofing company in town, quickly began repairing damage to his premises with one goal in mind: to reopen on Monday.
The sandbags and duct tape he placed on doors and windows were not enough to prevent about two feet of water from entering his business.
So now he and his employees have to strip the insulation from the walls, rip out carpeting and replace everything in order to prevent mold.
"Now we should be good, but in a week or a month, we could be gearing up to do this again," the 43-year-old said stoically. "That's just part of living here."
A mile away, next to the estuary renowned as a safe haven for manatees, Bob Bieniek walked through his two-story house.
After years living in the town, the 66-year-old real estate agent has become used to flooding. But he didn't expect to suffer so much damage this time.
On Wednesday, the water rose to more than six feet inside his home, saturating the walls and breaking a kitchen cabinet. Outside, part of a mooring was torn away by the floodwaters.
Bieniek bore it calmly. Despite the threat of hurricanes and flooding on the Florida coast, it does not cross his mind to go elsewhere.
"I'm coming here to retire so we'll stay here, you know?" he said.
"I'm going to buy something higher. Or we're going to build a house here, higher on stilts," he pondered. "This is life in paradise."
Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
