2023-08-31 16:25:00
tropical storm idalia came down over the Carolinas on its way to the Atlantic Ocean Thursday, leaving a trail of floods and destruction throughout the Southeast that extended until its landfall as a hurricane in Florida.
Rescue and repair efforts continued in areas hit by the storm on Wednesday and there was no immediate word on the number of casualties from the fierce winds and flooding, but authorities They counted at least one death.
The storm left up half a million customers without power in Florida and other states when he downed power lines and poles. Even so, it was much less destructive than feared and dealt only indirect hits to Tampa Bay and other more populated areas when it made landfall with 125 mph winds in rural Florida.
The weakened storm was still packing winds of up to 60 mph as it battered Georgia and South Carolina late Wednesday. This Thursday, it entered North Carolina towards the east coast and is expected to enter the ocean during the weekend.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who declared a state emergency earlier this week as Idalia neared, had warned residents of eastern inland and coastal counties to prepare for heavy rains and localized flooding and urged to stay away from routes covered by water.
In South Carolina, the storm joined the great tides that caused seawater to flow over sand dunes and spill onto beachfront streets. In Charleston, a wave overcame the boardwalk that protects the downtown area, sending ankle-deep ocean water into streets and neighborhoods where horse-drawn carriages pass million-dollar homes and the famous open-air market.
Preliminary data showed that Wednesday night’s high tide reached just over 2.8 metersmore than 0.9 meters above normal and the fifth-highest reading in Charleston Harbor since records were kept for the first time in 1899.
In Charleston the ocean water reached the streets and neighborhoods. Photo: AP
The bands (cloud formations with rain) of Idalia they also caused tornadoes Of short duration. One flipped a car in suburban Goose Creek, South Carolina, causing minor injuries, authorities said. No major damage was reported.
After crossing the Gulf of Mexico, Idalia made landfall Wednesday morning near Keaton Beach, plaguing the remote and sparsely populated Big Bend region Florida with powerful winds.
In the area, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsulathe streets turned into rivers that submerged cars and houses, while the strong winds they ripped off roofs, snapped tall trees, blew sheet metal and they destroyed houses.
“All Hell Breaks Loose”
“All hell broke loose,” said Belond Thomas of Perry, an industrial city located inland from the Big Bend region. Thomas fled with his family and some of his friends to a motel, thinking he would be safer than riding out the storm at home, but the roof was torn off and debris fell on his pregnant daughter, who luckily was not injured, Thomas said.
Eliah Corcoran sits on a bench in a flooded area in Crystal River, Florida. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
There were no officially confirmed hurricane-related deaths in Florida, but the state highway patrol reported that two people died in separate weather-related accidents just hours before Idalia made landfall.
While Idalia seemed to be far less destructive than first feared, it is likely that the damage is extensive.
“The house is no more”
At Horseshoe Beach in downtown Big Bend, Jewell Baggett rummaged through the rubble and debris of her mother’s destroyed home and found some photographs and her mother’s pots and pans.
Dorthy Swatters in her ruined garden after the passage of Idalia, in Perry, Florida. Photo: Chandan Khanna / AFP
His grandfather built the house decades ago and it had survived four previous storms, he said.
“And now it’s gone” said. “There’s nothing left. A few little trinkets here and there.”
In Tallahassee, power went out well before the center of the storm reached, but the city avoided a direct hit. A giant oak tree next to the Governor’s Mansion split in half, covering the courtyard with rubble.
search and recovery
State officials, 5,500 National Guard members and rescue teams went into search and recovery mode, inspecting bridges, clearing downed trees and looking for anyone in distress. More than 30,000 utility workers came together to repair downed poles and power lines.
Idalia had weakened into a tropical storm late Wednesday afternoon, but still made a big impact as it moved toward Georgia, where a man in Valdosta died when a tree fell on him while trying to remove another tree from the road, the Lowndes County Sheriff said. Ashley Paulk said.
Coast Guard helicopters fly over the areas hit by the hurricane. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP
Two other people, including a sheriff’s deputy, were injured, he said.
Bermuda authorities warned that Idalia could hit the island early next week as a tropical storm. On Wednesday, Bermuda was being battered by the outer bands of Hurricane Franklin, a Category 2 storm that was on track to pass near the island in the north Atlantic Ocean.
President Joe Biden called the governors of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina on Wednesday and told them their states had the full support of his administration, the White House said.
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