Idalia floods streets in South Carolina after thrashing Florida

(NewsNation) — Hurricane Idalia ripped through Florida’s Big Bend region Wednesday, bringing down trees and causing extensive flooding before moving through Georgia and South Carolina as a tropical storm that flooded roadways and spawned at least one tornado.

Idalia reached Big Bend as an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 storm around 7:45 a.m. Wednesday with winds speeds reaching up to 125 mph.

The system remained a hurricane as it crossed into Georgia with top winds of 90 mph. It weakened to a tropical storm by late Wednesday afternoon, and its winds had dropped to 60 mph by Wednesday evening, the National Hurricane Center said.

As Idalia blew into Florida, rushing water covered streets near the coast and unmoored small boats, and nearly a half-million customers in Florida and Georgia lost power.

In Perry, Florida, the wind blew out store windows, tore siding off buildings and overturned a gas station canopy. Heavy rains partially flooded Interstate 275 in Tampa and wind toppled power lines onto the northbound side of Interstate 75 just south of Valdosta, Georgia.

More than 150,000 Floridians were still without power Wednesday night, according to PowerOutage.us. About 149,000 Georgians and 37,000 in South Carolina were also experiencing outages.

So far, officials in Florida have reported two storm-related deaths stemming from traffic accidents.

A 40-year-old man in Pasco County lost control of his vehicle while driving in the storm and collided with a tree, according to Florida Highway Patrol. He died at the scene.

To the north, a 59-year-old man in Alachua County died after crashing his pickup into a ditch while traveling in “extremely rainy conditions,” officials said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said crews are assessing the damage in affected areas and noted that authorities haven’t confirmed those fatalities are related to the hurricane.

“We’ve got a lot of people that are going in offering assistance from the state … helping these counties stabilize the situation,” DeSantis told reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Some of the damage occurred near the governor’s own residence after a 100-year-old oak tree fell. DeSantis said his wife and children are safe.

President Joe Biden said he’s been in touch with the governors whose states are in the storm’s path to let them know that federal aid is available.

“If there’s anything the states need right now I’m ready to mobilize that support,” Biden said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

Biden said he has directed FEMA to deploy 1,500 personnel to the Southeast as well as 900 U.S. Coast Guard personnel.

The storm had intensified into a dangerous Category 4 hurricane early Wednesday morning as it barreled over the Gulf of Mexico’s warm waters overnight. It made landfall as a Category 3 and then moved northeast, hammering Georgia and South Carolina.

At 10 p.m. ET Wednesday, Tropical Storm Idalia was about 15 miles north-northwest of Charleston, the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving northeast at 21 mph. It was forecast to move near or along the coast of South Carolina through Wednesday night and then just off the coast of North Carolina on Thursday before heading out into the Atlantic Ocean.

In Georgia, Idalia briefly spawned a tornado that flipped a car in the Charleston suburb of Goose Creek, the National Weather Service said. Two people received minor injuries.

The storm killed at least one person in Georgia.

Along South Carolina’s coast, North Myrtle Beach, Garden City, and Edisto Island all reported ocean water flowing over sand dunes and spilling onto beachfront streets Wednesday evening. In Charleston, storm surge from Idalia topped the seawall that protects the downtown, sending ankle-deep ocean water into the streets and neighborhoods.

Preliminary data showed the Wednesday evening high tide reached just over 9.2 feet, more than 3 feet above normal and the fifth-highest reading in Charleston Harbor since records were first kept in 1899.

Florida’s Big Bend region experienced catastrophic storm surges along the coast and damaging winds spread inland over northern Florida, the National Hurricane Center reported.

The NHC had warned residents of an increased risk of life-threatening storm surges up to 16 feet above ground level, dangerous hurricane-force winds and flooding. 

DeSantis said there are eight urban search and rescue teams, 33 ambulance strike teams and 5,500 National Guardsmen helping residents. The Coast Guard is also on standby, should that be necessary.

DeSantis emphasized that Floridians should stay inside until otherwise advised and to avoid any debris or downed powerlines as they may still be active.

“Don’t put your life at risk by doing anything dumb at this point,” DeSantis said.

Evacuation notices had been issued in at least 25 Florida counties with mandatory orders in 17. Some of those orders have since been lifted.

DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 49 counties, a broad swath that stretches across the northern half of the state from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast. The state has mobilized about 5,500 National Guard members, who have 2,400 high-water vehicles and 12 aircraft at their disposal for rescue and recovery efforts.

Biden spoke to DeSantis on Monday morning, telling the Florida governor that he had approved an emergency declaration for the state, the White House said in a news release.

Storm surges have left parts of Florida's Crystal River underwater in the wake of Hurricane Idalia. @xavierwalton hitched a ride on the back of a pickup to get a view of flooded streets in the area. More: https://t.co/jE4p8Zwe4p pic.twitter.com/EMqaekombH

— NewsNation (@NewsNation) August 30, 2023

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said DeSantis has been satisfied with the federal response and had no unmet needs as of midday Wednesday.

Southwest Florida is still recovering from Hurricane Ian, which was responsible last year for almost 150 deaths. The Category 5 hurricane damaged 52,000 structures, nearly 20,000 of which were destroyed or severely damaged.

DeSantis said at news conference Wednesday evening the storm appeared to be much less severe than Ian.

“I remember when that storm was hitting … the panicked phone calls of people calling whose homes were filling up with was something that was very, very ominous,” DeSantis said. “That has not been how this storm has been.”

Between duct tape and sandbags, people did whatever they could to prepare before the storm hit, but residents like Brian Smith didn’t wait around.

“I worry about every storm; no more, no less. Each one of them is a challenge. It’s not worth jeopardizing my family,” Smith said Tuesday.

Others, like David Van, decided to stick it out. Van’s been in the area for over 30 years and said he hasn’t had damage from storms before.

Storm conditions in the Southeast are expected to last through Thursday morning, with the most significant impacts expected in the eastern midlands throughout the coastal plain with 4 to 8 inches of rain.

Ahead of Idalia coming to Georgia and South Carolina, Governors Brian Kemp and Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.