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Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in Florida, residents warned: Top updates
Idalia in Florida: Officials said that the hurricane will slam the coast within hours as an extreme and historic Category 4 storm.
Hurricane Idalia strengthened into a Category 4 storm as it made landfall on Florida’s west coast where it threatens to unleash floods and trigger blackouts. Idalia’s maximum sustained winds reached 130 miles per hour with “catastrophic storm surge”, the US National Hurricane Center said. Officials said that the hurricane will slam the coast within hours as an extreme and historic Category 4 storm.
Authorities in the US state termed Idalia as a once-in-a-lifetime event for Florida's northwest coast as they ordered evacuations and issued flood alert. The US National Hurricane Center said, "Additional strengthening is forecast, and Idalia is forecast to become a category 4 hurricane before it reaches the Big Bend coast of Florida this morning. Idalia is likely to still be a hurricane while moving across southern Georgia, and possibly when it reaches the coast of Georgia or southern South Carolina late today."
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Warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico are expected to further intensify Idalia with wind speeds of 130 to 156 mph, the NHC said as it warned of a potentially disastrous storm surge inundation of 12 to 16 feet in some coastal areas.
"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," Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) chief Deanne Criswell said.
Idalia was already battering parts of Florida with flooding seen in Fort Myers Beach south of Tampa. Florida governor Ron DeSantis urged those in the evacuation areas in 23 counties to go “now.” The hurricane appeared to be the strongest to impact the region in more than a century, he said in the region where almost 150 people were killed last year when Hurricane Ian slammed Florida's west coast.
The storm is forecast to bring to 12 inches of rain in parts of the Florida panhandle potentially triggering flash floods and tornadoes. US president Joe Biden spoke with Ron DeSantis and approved an emergency declaration for Florida.
