Flood barrier installed around Florida hospital ahead of Hurricane Idalia

A flood guard is being built around the Manatee Memorial Hospital ahead of Hurricane Idalia’s imminent arrival.

The Florida National Guard has installed the Tiger Dam flood barrier around the hospital as an alternative to sandbags as it can be rapidly deployed.

Idalia is forecast to reach Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson wind scale, qualifying it as a major hurricane, when it reaches Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The Florida Emergency Management Agency has listed 28 counties with evacuation orders.