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

Flood waters from Hurricane Idalia inundate Steinhatchee, Florida

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.

Key points

• Biden heading to Florida to see aftermath and recovery efforts
• Hurricane Idalia could be US’s costliest climate disaster this year
• Biden wants an extra $4bn for disaster relief, bringing total request to $16bn
• Life-threatening flash flooding continues to hit North Carolina
• WATCH: Terrifying moment tornado flips car with two inside
• Tree falls on DeSantis mansion with his family inside as Hurricane Idalia rocks Florida

[1 September 2023 17:20 · Oliver O'Connell]

[1 September 2023 17:40 · Oliver O'Connell]

Watch: DeSantis says Florida will apply for whatever federal money is available for recovery

[1 September 2023 18:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

Watch: DeSantis says Biden team will be ‘sensitive’ about not causing disruption during Florida visit

[1 September 2023 18:20 · Oliver O'Connell]

Terrifying moment car carrying two people is flipped into air by Hurricane Idalia

A car carrying two people was flipped into the air by a tornado in South Carolina, as Hurricane Idalia tore through the state.

The black sedan was travelling through severe rainfall near Goose Creek, north of Charleston, on Wednesday afternoon when severe gusts of wind threw it up in the air at an intersection.

Footage shows the car being flipped upwards by the strong winds, causing it to spin on its rear wheels before flipping upside down and landing on the roof of another oncoming car.

The Goose Creek Police Department said that the two people inside the car suffered minor injuries and were taken for treatment at a local hospital.

Officials from Berkely County Emergency Management later confirmed that it was a brief tornado during Storm Idalia that had flipped the vehicle.

[1 September 2023 19:20 · Oliver O'Connell]

[1 September 2023 20:20 · Oliver O'Connell]

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.

[1 September 2023 21:20 · Oliver O'Connell]

[1 September 2023 21:40 · Oliver O'Connell]

[1 September 2023 22:00 · Oliver O'Connell]

Despite opposing it after Sandy, DeSantis says Florida will apply for federal disaster relief money

Florida Gov Ron DeSantis said that his state will apply for federal dollars to help recover after Hurricane Idalia — despite the fact he voted against providing disaster relief when he was in Congress.

Eric Garcia reports.

[1 September 2023 22:20 · Oliver O'Connell]

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.”