Florida's storm-struck Gulf Coast takes stock as Idalia soaks Carolinas
Send a link to a friend
[September 01, 2023]
By Julio-Cesar Chavez, Marco Bello and Brendan O'Brien
HORSESHOE BEACH, Florida (Reuters) -Tropical Storm Idalia drenched the
Carolinas with heavy rain before departing the U.S. Eastern Seaboard on
Thursday, while officials in Florida, where the tempest made landfall as
a major hurricane a day earlier, stepped up recovery and
damage-appraisal efforts.
Nearly 36 hours after plowing ashore from the Gulf of Mexico at Keaton
Beach in Florida's Big Bend region, packing Category 3 winds of nearly
125 miles per hour (201 kph), Idalia weakened from a tropical storm to a
post-tropical cyclone and drifted out into the Atlantic.
At the height of its fury on Wednesday, Idalia ravaged a wide swath of
low-lying and largely rural Gulf Coast landscape and forced emergency
teams, some in boats, to rescue dozens of residents who became trapped
by floodwaters.
The storm brought fierce winds and drove surging seawater miles inland,
strewing the area with fallen trees, power lines and debris. Many
buildings were in shambles, and power outages were widespread.
The storm ranked as the most powerful hurricane in more than a century
to strike the Big Bend region, a sparsely populated area laced with
marshland, rivers and springs where the state's northern Gulf Coast
panhandle curves into the western side of the Florida Peninsula.
The damage and loss of life were less than many had feared, with
authorities confirming three traffic-related fatalities linked to the
storm in Florida and another in southeastern Georgia.
Idalia's storm surge - considered the greatest hazard posed by major
hurricanes - appeared to have caused no deaths.
Even as Idalia headed out to the Atlantic, the back end of the storm
system was producing downpours that were forecast to dump as much as 10
inches (25 cm) of rain in some spots along the coastline of North and
South Carolina, the National Weather Service said.
Forecasters had warned of possible life-threatening flash floods in the
Carolinas. But local media reports at day's end said both states had
mostly been spared.
Flooding damaged about 40 businesses in the town of Whiteville, North
Carolina, marking that state's most serious brush with Idalia, according
to Raleigh-based ABC News affiliate WTVD-TV.
South Carolina's emergency management center was winding down its
operations by afternoon, said Charleston-based station WCSC-TV.
“We were very fortunate this time,” state emergency management chief Kim
Stenos was quoted as saying.
'THE HOUSE IS STILL THERE'
Much of Florida's Big Bend coast was much less fortunate.
Horseshoe Beach, a community about 30 miles south of landfall, was among
those that bore the brunt of Idalia's impact. Video footage showed
scattered remnants of trailer homes sheared from bare concrete
foundations. Other trailer homes had toppled and slid into lagoons, and
boat docks were reduced to piles of splintered lumber.
John "Sparky" Abrade, a 77-year-old retiree who lives in the community,
said he nevertheless felt relieved when he saw the damage to his home,
even though the windows were blown out and household items scattered
about.
[to top of second column]
|
View of a damaged property after the
arrival of Hurricane Idalia in Horseshoe Beach, Florida, U.S.,
August 31, 2023. REUTERS/Julio Cesar Chavez
"I'm feeling great. The house is still here," he said.
Local, state and federal authorities said they would assess the full
extent of damage in the days ahead. Insured property losses in
Florida were projected to run to $9.36 billion, according to
investment bank UBS.
"We've seen a lot of heart-breaking damage," Governor Ron DeSantis
said during an afternoon news briefing after touring three
communities near where the storm made landfall.
President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for
several hard-hit Florida counties, Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) Director Deane Creswell said after touring the area
with Decanis. Biden said he plans to visit some of the
storm-battered areas on Saturday.
Despite heavy damage to homes in many coastal communities, Idalia
proved far less destructive, or lethal, than Hurricane Ian, a
Category 5 storm that struck Florida last September, killing 150
people and causing $112 billion in property losses.
The last hurricane documented making landfall on the Big Bend coast
with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph was an unnamed storm that
struck Cedar Keys in September 1896, devastating the area.
Decanis credited the accuracy of Idalia forecasts tracking its path
with helping authorities fine-tune evacuation plans and thus save
lives.
"People, particularly in this area - who were in the way of a
potential significant storm surge - they did take the proper
precautions," he said.
Across the Southeast, electricity outages from fallen trees, utility
poles and power lines were widespread. In all, more than 175,000
homes and businesses were without power in Florida, Georgia and the
Carolinas on Thursday, according to Poweroutage.us.
Florida officials said crews would restore most of the state's
electricity within 48 hours.
For some, losses from the storm cut deep.
In Horseshoe Beach, Austin "Buddy" Daniel Ellison, 39, and his
father Ronald Daniel Ellison, plodded through the ruins of Ed's
Baitshop, the family's business. Nearby, their home was badly
damaged.
"I ain't never seen one like this, my Dad never seen one like this,"
Buddy Ellison said.
The family was grateful that timely evacuation meant no one was
hurt. But the Ellisons said they lacked insurance and will have to
leave the area where their family has deep roots.
"This storm is forcing us out of here," Ronald Ellison said. "As I
see it now, it's over."
(Reporting by Maria Alejandra Cardona in Steinhatchee, Florida, and
Marco Bello in Cedar Key, Florida; Additional reporting by Rich
McKay and Brendan O'Brien; Writing by Brendan O'Brien and Steve
Gorman; Editing by Marguerita Choy, Cynthia Osterman and Miral
Fahmy)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |