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More on Idalia
- Idalia moved offshore today, but remains a tropical storm.
- Around 300,000 customers were without power in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina early this morning.
- Idalia could drop up to 8 inches of rain in the Carolinas, and forecasters warn that flash flooding, urban flooding and moderate river flooding are possible.
- The storm made landfall in Florida's Big Bend just before 8 a.m. ET yesterday as a Category 3 hurricane after having strengthened to Category 4.
- Satellite images captured the flooding in Florida's Big Bend.
- Some residents who rode out Hurricane Idalia at home in Florida had to "swim out of their windows."
Immigrants wonder if DeSantis law will limit their ability to rebuild Florida after Idalia
As Florida residents emerge from Hurricane Idalia, some have started to assess the damage and clean up after the trail of destruction the storm left behind.
Among them are Mexican workers Alberto, Maggie and Jorge Vidal, who weathered out the storm inside a 30-room hotel where they work, in the city of Perry.
The Vidals got down to work shortly after the hurricane passed, even before the hotel’s manager was able to return to the building.
That’s when it became clear to them that immigrant construction workers like them will be key to rebuilding what Idalia destroyed.
“This is where all the immigrants that the governor wants to push out are needed,” Maggie Vidal told Noticias Telemundo in Spanish. “Who is going to do all of this work? There is a lot, a lot of work here.”
She was referencing Gov. Ron DeSantis’ stringent immigration law that imposes restrictions and penalties to deter the employment of undocumented workers in Florida.
Since it went into effect on July 1, some farm and construction workers have moved out the state because of fears around the law.
Gov. DeSantis announces disaster aid for Florida after Hurricane Idalia
Idalia's impact in N.C.: 2 possible tornadoes, 35K in the dark, nearly 80 roads closed due to floods
Idalia has caused some localized flooding, downed trees and power outages in North Carolina, state officials said in a news release today.
The storm brought two “possible tornadoes” in Brunswick and New Hanover counties, dumped 2 to 6 inches of rain across eastern North Carolina, shuttered schools, and closed down 79 roads due to flooding, the state Department of Public Safety and Gov. Roy Cooper said.
At the peak of the power outage, 35,000 were left in the dark across the state. As of 11 a.m., there were a little more than 14,000 outages, the release said.
Flash flooding may continue as additional rainfall continues to pose a threat in the state, the governor warned.
“I appreciate so many people stepping up to take precautions and there is still the possibility of heavy rain, gusty winds and storm surge, particularly in eastern North Carolina,” Cooper said. “It’s important that people stay off flooded roads and continue to listen to local officials.”
Biden addresses response to Idalia at FEMA headquarters
Steinhatchee still without power, reeling from Idalia
STEINHATCHEE, Fla. — Cleanup was underway in the small coastal community Thursday afternoon after Hurricane Idalia sent more than 5 feet of water rushing into homes along the Steinhatchee River.
Half a dozen local church members were helping Richard Carmichael, 79, clear his riverfront property. The storm wiped out the first floor of his home, destroying furniture and leaving mud caked on the floor.
Carmichael, a Florida native, tried to prepare the best he could before evacuating. He moved lamps and small appliances to the kitchen counter and raised couches and chairs high off the floor.
“I thought I was prepared, but I didn’t put the stuff up high enough,” Carmichael said. “It came up about 5 1/2 feet in here. What I have to do is take all this stuff and dump it.”
Despite the destruction, Carmichael is maintaining a positive attitude, saying, “I’ve been blessed. I’m still living.”
He said he plans to live only on the second floor of his home in the future.
“I’m going to leave this empty down here so I won’t have to go through this again,” he said.
Large trees and downed power lines still blocked streets leading to the marina Thursday. Debris remains scattered across front yards, and portions of a destroyed boat dock floated in the river. The town has not had electricity since the hurricane rolled through.
Jessup Evans, 18, also evacuated with his family. He described watching as the hurricane slammed boats into a bridge near the marina.
“The water was enormous. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” he said.
Evans’ family home was spared. He spent Thursday helping a local restaurant clean up.
22 water rescues required in Charleston, but city ‘dodged a bullet,’ mayor says
CHARLESTON, S.C. — City officials said emergency personnel responded to nearly two dozen water rescues Wednesday night as high tides fueled by Idalia quickly flooded some streets downtown, but the city “really dodged a bullet again.”
“We had 22 water rescues, predominantly removing people from vehicles in flooded areas,” Dan Curia, the fire chief of the city of Charleston, said during a news conference early Thursday afternoon. “Most of the activity for the department was between the hours of 7 p.m. and midnight.”
There was also a 30% increase in call volume, he said.
Still, Mayor John Tecklenburg said Charleston “really dodged the bullet again.”
“We’re really blessed,” he said.
Officials said there were 51 road closures throughout the city, but they have all since reopened.
City officials said the flooding highlighted the need to construct a sea wall around the Charleston peninsula to help protect against storms and rising sea levels. The city has been working with the Army Corps of Engineers to design such a wall, but it has received pushback from some local residents who worry it would be too tall and imposing.
If the sea wall had been built in time for Idalia, “the peninsula would have been dry,” said Dale Morris, the city’s chief resilience officer.
“None of the damage that we’re seeing now coming in and the damage assessments would have occurred,” he said. “The flooding on the streets on the peninsula would not have occurred.”
Florida communities survey the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia
Cleanup begins in Charleston after Idalia flooded streets
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Workers were busy clearing mud and debris from streets and roads the morning after Idalia brought some of the highest tides on record to Charleston Harbor.
Dark brown mud, leaves, branches and sea shells coated some streets this morning around the Battery, where waters breached the wall and filled streets shin deep last night. Tiny crabs moved quickly on the walkway.
Alex Garcia, 55, shoveled swamp grass and downed branches from the streets around homes as Jesus Selvas, 47, cleared debris with a leaf blower near a downed metal construction fence.
“Truthfully, it’s impressive, everything that’s left,” Garcia said in Spanish. “There’s a lot of garbage to clean up. Lots of people are going to be busy today.”
Nearby, city workers removed a large log with a mini track loader and raked the streets.
While Charleston was largely spared the worst of the storm, officials were assessing any damage as people cleaned streets to return to normalcy.
“Everything was flooded here, all the streets and boardwalk,” Selvas said. “This is going to take days to clean. The dirt left behind is ugly.”
D.J. Hampton, president and CEO of Trident United Way, said the organization received almost 490 calls in the last 36 hours related to the storm, including people looking for shelter and food.
“We’re really grateful that we were spared the worst of the Idalia,” he said, but the organization was assessing community needs.
He said several staff members were “severely impacted“ by the storm after losing power and being near flooded roads.
“Today, locally is about assessing and cleanup that we need to do to support our own community after the storm,” he said, adding that advocacy groups were also now turning to how they could help neighboring states, such as Florida, where the storm brought destruction to coastal communities.
One storm-related death reported in Georgia
A person died in Lowndes County, Georgia, from a tree falling on a vehicle, James C. Stallings, director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, said today.
“We do have one reported fatality in Lowndes County,” he said in a storm briefing. “Other than that, there are a lot of minor injuries that have occurred, storm-related injuries.”
The victim was not named and officials said their thoughts are with the victim’s families.
That brings Idalia's known death toll to three. Two people died in weather-related car accidents in Florida, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Idalia's center moving off North Carolina coast
The center of Tropical Storm Idalia is now moving east of the North Carolina coast, forecasters said in an 11 a.m. update.
Strong winds and storm surge are occurring in the eastern part of the state, and an earlier tropical storm warning has been discontinued west of Cape Fear.
Idalia is now located about 85 miles southeast of Cape Lookout, traveling east at 20 mph with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph.
As Idalia swirls into the Atlantic, its effects will still be felt in North Carolina where moderate river flooding, strong winds and coastal flooding will continue today.