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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Your support makes all the difference.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.
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 attorney general defends DeSantis’ ‘you loot, we shoot’ threat
The Florida attorney general has defended Governor Ron DeSantis after he discouraged looters and referenced signs put up saying “you loot, we shoot”.
Florida attorney general defends DeSantis’ ‘you loot, we shoot’ threat
‘When people leave, they have to trust that their property is going to be safe because of our approach to law and order,’ Ashley Moody says
Watch: Biden thanks staff of FEMA for helping those afflicted by natural disasters
Why Hurricane Idalia stopped intensifying and turned away from Tallahassee
In the final hours before Hurricane Idalia struck Florida the storm had grown into a Category 4 beast lurking off the state’s west coast, and the forecast called for it to continue intensifying up until landfall.
An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft had recorded winds up to 130 mph (215 kph), the National Hurricane Center said in an ominous bulletin at 6 a.m. Wednesday.
As the sun rose an hour later, however, there was evidence the hurricane began replacing the wall around its eye — a phenomenon that experts say kept it from further intensifying. Maximum winds had dropped to near 125 mph (205 kph), the Hurricane Center said in a 7 a.m. update.
Then came another surprising twist: A last-minute turn sparing the state’s capital city of Tallahassee from far more serious damage.
In final hours before landfall, Hurricane Idalia stopped intensifying and turned from Tallahassee
In the final hours before Hurricane Idalia struck Florida, experts say its eye experienced a phenomenon that kept it from further intensifying
Why do so many destructive hurricanes start with the letter 'I’?
Hurricane Idalia caused widespread damage after making landfall as an “extremely dangerous”, Category 3 storm in Florida on Wednesday.
Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, and residents shared heartbreaking images of the destruction Idalia caused.
Idalia, which is pronounced Ee-DAL-ya and has Greek or Spanish origins, joined a long list of notoriously destructive hurricanes, whose names start with the letter “I”.
Why destructive hurricanes like Idalia often start with the letter ‘I’
Idalia tore through Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas this week
Tampa Bay area again dodges direct hit from 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. 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.
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
ICYMI: 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.
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Terrifying moment car carrying two people is flipped into air by Hurricane Idalia
Tornado flipped car into the air in South Carolina as Hurricane Idalia moved through the state
Before and after Hurricane Idalia made landfall captured by satellites
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.
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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
Could Hurricane Idalia 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.
Read on...
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
ICYMI: DeSantis hit by power outage in middle of Hurricane Idalia briefing
Ron DeSantis was hit by a power outage in the middle of his press conference about Hurricane Idalia on Wednesday morning, as the storm barreled into Florida’s Big Bend region.
Ron DeSantis hit by power outage in middle of Hurricane Idalia briefing
While thousands of Floridians have been plunged into darkness as a result of Hurricane Idalia, Governor Ron DeSantis’ briefing was disrupted by a power outage of its own
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