Hurricane Idalia updates: Biden promises to ‘take care of Florida’ on visit after DeSantis snub
President Biden assesses scale of impacts from Hurricane Idalia from the sky before conducting a walking tour of communities
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Joe Biden told Florida residents “your nation has your back” on Saturday as he toured areas of the state damaged by Hurricane Idalia.
The president assessed the scale of the storm’s impact from the air, before meeting members of the public on a walking tour.
But while Mr Biden was joined by one of the state’s Republican senators – Rick Scott – his trip was snubbed by governor Ron DeSantis, a possible rival in the next presidential election.
“As I’ve told your governor, if there’s anything your state needs, I’m ready to mobilize that support,” Mr Biden said.
Idalia ploughed into Florida as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday morning before losing power as it moved inland through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
At around 5pm on Saturday afternoon the National Hurricane Center issued what it said was its final advisory on Idalia, noting that the post-tropical cyclone had moved away off Bermuda and that the storm warning for the island was discontinued.
Potentially dangerous surf and rip currents from Idalia will continue to hit the US east coast throughout the Labor Day weekend, it warned.
Satellite images capture Florida before and after Hurricane Idalia made landfall
Satellite images have captured the life-threatening flooding in Florida after Hurricane Idalia battered the peninsula this week.
Idalia made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 3 storm early Wednesday morning with wind speeds topping 125 mph.
The storm flooded streets, destroyed homes and downed power lines. Terrifying videos have shown a car being flipped into the air by a gust of wind and a gas station roof being blown off.
Water levels in the Steinhatchee River surged from 1 foot to 8 feet in just an hour, the National Weather Service said.
The storm was declared “an unprecedented event” by the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, because no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend.
Satellite images capture Florida before and after Hurricane Idalia made landfall
Florida Highway Patrol said that two men were killed in two separate weather-related road accidents. In Georgia, a man was killed by a falling tree while he was trying to clear another tree off a highway
Florida man rowing inflatable duck interrupts CNN live report
A pair of Tampa residents interrupted a live CNN report by rowing an inflatable duck down a flooded road. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam appeared amused as the duo made their way down Bayshore Boulevard at 8am on Wednesday morning (30 August) as Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida. “This is something you don’t see every day. Guys... what are you doing?” Van Dam asked as the camouflaged duck moved past him. “I don’t want to minimize the serious nature of the storm, but this is what people are dealing with in Tampa,” he added.
Tree falls on Florida home as Hurricane Idalia devastates state
A tree fell on a house in Perry, Florida, as Hurricane Idalia made landfall on Wednesday 30 August. In a video shared on Facebook by resident Olivia Gregg, one downed tree can already be seen out of the window, before two more fall in the wind, with the second crashing into the home. “Tree hit the house a little while ago. My immediate neighbours have massive trees on their houses as well,” Gregg wrote. “We are ok.” Idalia made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday, with wind speeds topping 125 mph.
Hurricane Idalia: Drone footage reveals devastating Florida flooding
Devastating drone footage has revealed the extent of flooding as Hurricane Idalia decimated the town of Steinhatchee, Florida.
The river that runs through the town rose 8 feet on Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service, and flooded the town less than 20 miles from where Idalia made landfall.
Officials urged the 500 residents of the coastal community to evacuate the town on Tuesday (29 August 2023) ahead of the storm surge.
As of 6 pm Wednesday evening, Hurricane Idalia has been downgraded to a tropical storm the National Hurricane Center reports.
Hurricane Idalia could be US’s costliest climate disaster this year
Analysts are estimating that Hurricane Idalia may become the most costly climate disaster in the US this year, according to a report.
The storm — which made landfall near Big Bend, Florida, on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane — caused an estimated $9.36bn based on early estimates from UBS, a risk analysis firm. However, those are only early estimates; Accuweather predicted the total damage could be somewhere between $18bn and $20bn.
The costs of climate disasters like Hurricane Idalia and the 15 other incidents recorded this year by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are becoming especially costly for insurers and risk management companies, according to The Guardian.
Tom Larsen, the senior director of insurance solutions at CoreLogic, which provides property analytics and publishes an annual hurricane risk report, told the newspaper that the “costs are becoming unbearable.”
“The business of insuring for catastrophes used to mean exceptional, very rare events and that’s not what we’re seeing,” he said. “These are much more common, so something’s got to change.”
Hurricane Idalia could be US’s costliest climate disaster this year
The mounting cost of climate disasters is making it increasingly difficult for insurers to do business in Florida
Biden wants an extra $4bn for disaster relief in wake of wildfires and storms
The White House will seek an additional $4bn to address natural disasters as part of its supplemental funding request — a sign that wildfires, flooding and hurricanes that have intensified during a period of climate change are imposing ever higher costs on US taxpayers.
The Biden administration had initially requested $12bn in extra funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund, which helps with rescue and relief efforts. But an official in the Democratic administration said that the fires in Hawaii and Louisiana as well as flooding in Vermont and Hurricane Idalia striking Florida and other Southeastern states mean that a total of $16bn is needed.
As recently as Tuesday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell had stressed that $12bn would be enough to meet the agency's needs through the end of the fiscal year this month.
Read more...
Biden wants an extra $4 billion for disaster relief, bringing total request to $16 billion
The White House will seek an additional $4 billion to address natural disasters as part of its supplemental funding request
Florida residents share heartbreaking photos of Hurricane Idalia’s wrath
Florida residents shared heartbreaking photos of the destruction caused by Hurricane Idalia after the powerful storm swept into the state on Wednesday.
Idalia made landfall around 8am as an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 storm with 120mph winds and warnings of a “catastrophic” coastal surge up to 15 feet in places. More than 250,000 customers were left without power on Wednesday.
The hurricane came ashore near Keaton Beach in Big Bend, southeast of Tallahassee, an area known as “Florida’s nature coast” and less densely populated than other parts of the state.
But that was cold comfort for the small, tranquil communities dotting the coastline with Idalia forecast to be the strongest storm to hit the region in more than 100 years.
Florida residents share heartbreaking photos of Hurricane Idalia’s wrath
Idalia made landfall as a powerful, ‘extremely dangerous’ storm on Florida’s ‘nature coast’
Watch: Florida AG defends Gov DeSantis warning looters of ‘you loot, we shoot’ signs
Once again Tampa Bay area dodges direct hit by hurricane
Last year it was Hurricane Ian that drew a bead on Tampa Bay before abruptly shifting east to strike southwest Florida more than 130 miles (210 kilometers) away. This time it was Hurricane Idalia, which caused some serious flooding as it sideswiped the area but packed much more punch at landfall Wednesday, miles to the north.
In fact, the Tampa Bay area hasn’t been hit directly by a major hurricane for more than a century. The last time it happened, there were just a few hundred thousand people living in the region, compared with more than 3 million today.
Read on...
Tampa Bay area gets serious flooding but again dodges a direct hit from a major hurricane.
Last year it was Hurricane Ian that drew a bead on Tampa Bay before abruptly shifting east to strike southwest Florida more than 130 miles (210 kilometers) away
Watch: Why you should avoid floodwaters after a hurricane
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