Hurricane Idalia recovery, cleanup efforts begin

(NewsNation) — Hurricane Idalia recovery efforts began Thursday after the storm ripped through Florida’s Big Bend region Wednesday, tearing down trees and causing life-threatening 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 wind speeds reaching up to 125 mph. 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 before making landfall.

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.

State officials said 5,500 National Guardsmen and rescue crews were in search-and-recovery mode, inspecting bridges, clearing toppled trees and looking for anyone in distress.

As of last night, there were approximately 40 successful rescues made, including 29 by the Florida National Guard.

DeSantis said crews were assessing the damage in heavily affected areas and noted that authorities haven’t confirmed those fatalities related to the hurricane. Most of the significant damage was done along the Big Bend region, but DeSantis said the impacted communities are resilient.

“We are going to work hard to make sure people get what they need,” DeSantis said. 

President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for Florida Thursday, ordering all available federal resources to help with the continued response to Idalia. The president reassured DeSantis in a phone call that Florida would have the White House’s full support.

DeSantis, during a Thursday news conference, said he’d be requesting a federal Fishery Disaster Assistance as well, as it is an important part of Florida’s economy.

Most schools should be open by Friday, he said at the conference.

In Tallahassee, the power went out well before the center of the storm arrived, but the city avoided a direct hit. 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.

The Tampa Bay area hasn’t been hit directly by a major hurricane for more than a century but storm surge from Idalia swamped neighborhoods and busy roads in the area, triggering shutdowns of some bridges between Tampa and the St. Petersburg area.

Access to barrier islands was temporarily shut off and several dozen people had to be rescued from flooded homes.

“Make no mistake, this hurricane left its mark,” St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said at a news conference. “The reality is we are not done dealing with the consequences of this major storm.”

Still, it could have been much worse. The storm surge in Tampa Bay was far lower than the levels experienced near the rural town of Steinhatchee in the Big Bend region, where the storm made landfall.

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.

In Perry, Florida, about 25 miles inland along the bend, the wind blew out store windows, tore siding off buildings and overturned a gas station canopy.

A third-generation hardware store owner in Perry had his building flattened by the force of the hurricane winds.

“They thought it was the safest place to be. They said it was 10 seconds and the roof was off,” business owner Davis Helm said.

Helm believes the damage was done by a tornado that spun up during the hurricane; however, that has yet to be confirmed by the National Weather Service.

As the eye moved inland, high winds shredded signs, blew off roofs, sent sheet metal flying and snapped tall trees. One person was killed in Georgia when a tree fell on him as he was trying to clear another tree out of the road Wednesday, said Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk. Two others, including a sheriff’s deputy, were injured when the tree fell, Paulk said.

“We’re fortunate this storm was a narrow one, and it was fast moving and didn’t sit on us,” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp told a news conference Thursday in Atlanta. “But if you were in the path, it was devastating. And we’re responding that way.”

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.

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.

Biden called the governors of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina on Wednesday and told them their states had his administration’s full support, the White House said.

The president approved an emergency declaration in South Carolina on Thursday. He had approved an emergency declaration for Florida earlier in the week ahead of the storm.

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

Biden spoke at FEMA headquarters on the hurricane response Thursday.

“This last couple years, with climate change really kicking in, you guys are going 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, and things just keep piling up,” Biden told employees. “I mean this sincerely, I admire what you do.”

 He’s scheduled to go to Florida on Saturday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.