Hurricane Idalia aftermath: Live updates
11 AM: Idalia Moves Offshore, Flooding Still Likely Along
Tropical Storm Idalia’s center now is moving eastward into the Atlantic Ocean, about 85 miles southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina.
But flooding and storm surge warnings remain for much of the Outer Banks and the North Carolina coastline, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)
Up to three feet of storm surge is expected across the entire coastline of North Carolina, and up to four feet is expected on the Pamlico, Pungo, Neuse, and Bay Rivers.
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Nearly all of North Carolina’s coastline also remains under a tropical storm warning. Frisco Woods, on the Outer Banks, still is recording sustained winds of 50 mph and gusts up to 64 mph, the NHC advises.
A moderate risk of flash flooding still persists on North Carolina’s eastern points from New Bern, through Marsh Island, and up to Elizabeth City.
A slight risk of flooding remains for the North Carolina cities of Jacksonville and Greenville, and extends north to Virginia Beach, Va.
Tropical Storm Idalia is recording maximum sustained winds of 60 mph, and is moving east at 20 mph. It is expected to downgrade to a post-tropical storm later today.
The storm is expected to strengthen again over the warm Atlantic water and return to tropical storm status this weekend.
10 AM: Hundreds of Thousands in Idalia’s Path Still Without Power
As Idalia made her way off the East Coast on Thursday morning, more than 140,000 Floridians were still waiting for their power to be restored.
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), the state’s largest utility, advised that it had “essentially completed” the restoration of power to its Southwest Florida customers and was working to do the same in North Florida.
“We continue to work day and night to restore power safely and as quickly as possible to our customers affected by Hurricane Idalia’s destructive path across Florida,” FPL President and CEO Armando Pimentel said in a written statement. “As power and a sense of normalcy are restored, we remind everyone to stay alert and safe and to avoid any hazardous conditions.”
Just to the north in Georgia, nearly 100,000 people remained without power. However, in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Georgia Power assured residents that its teams were working to evaluate the damage and restore power “as quickly as possible.”
In the Carolinas, power outages were less widespread, affecting more than 14,000 in South Carolina and more than 21,000 in North Carolina.
9:35 PM: FEMA Administrator Visits Florida
Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), was with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee Thursday morning to inspect the damage to the state–particularly in Taylor County and other counties directly in Hurricane Idalia’s path.
“We have received the governor’s request for a major disaster declaration, and that is in process right now,” Ms. Criswell said. And as President Biden has stated in numerous phone calls, we are committed to bringing the entire federal family in here to continue to support” recovery efforts.
Mr. DeSantis said the state requested a major disaster declaration from the federal government for “all 25 counties that fell under the hurricane warning.”
“Why I’m here today is to join the governor and see firsthand the impacts that the communities have had, so we can determine what level of assistance and what other programs we will need to bring in to help support those people that were in the storm’s path, help them on their road to recovery,” Ms. Criswell said.
“We are working very closely with FEMA to establish recovery resources,” said Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida’s Department of Emergency Management. That includes “disaster recovery, recovery centers, mobile registration, intake centers, and even disaster support assistance teams.”
9:20 AM: Still No Storm-Related Deaths
Rescue efforts continue to be made by Florida’s Urban Search and Rescue teams, Florida National Guard, the Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the Florida State Guard, Gov. Ron DeSantis reported.
“There are still reports rolling in,” he said, “but as of last night, there were approximately 40 successful rescues made, including 29 by the Florida National Guard. Our Fish and Wildlife officers assisted with a medical evacuation yesterday, and they are conducting high water and welfare checks.”
Florida Department of Emergency Management director Kevin Guthrie said there have been no deaths related to the storm.
“At this time, no deaths have been reported to the medical examiner’s commission,” he said. “The governor and I really hit that hard, ‘Evacuate. Evacuate. Evacuate. If you need power, please evacuate.’ So, it seems that people have heeded that call. And we’re grateful for that.”
But Mr. Guthrie and Mr. DeSantis pointed out that this situation differs greatly from what they found in Lee County.
Idalia’s forecast was much more consistent, as compared to Hurricane Ian’s, they said. And that provided more time to accurately stage preparations. Also, Lee County is far more densely populated than areas hardest hit by Hurricane Idalia.
9:15 AM: Florida’s DeSantis: ‘This Community is Resilient’
More than 24 hours have passed since Hurricane Ialia made landfall in the State of Florida. The Category 3 hurricane brought sustained winds just under 130 mph to the Big Bend Gulf Coast and sent torrential storm surge up and down the peninsula from Cedar Key to Port Charlotte.
But as the sun rose on Thursday, more than 80 percent of the reported power outage accounts had been restored, Cedar Key bridge and all state bridges were opened, and more than half of the school districts that closed were reopening.
“Yesterday morning, Hurricane Idalia made landfall,” Mr. DeSantis said during his 9:15 a.m. press conference at the Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. “The State of Florida immediately began response operations, including search and rescue debris cleanup and power restoration efforts. There has been significant damage, particularly along Florida’s Big Bend, but the community is resilient, and we’re going to work hard to make sure people get what they need.”
The governor reported that 420,000 accounts of power loss across the state had been restored as of 6 a.m. Thursday morning, with 146,000 accounts remaining without power.
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