Idalia buffets South Carolina as it continues to weaken: live updates

Over 34,000 South Carolinians are without power as of Wednesday night as Tropical Storm Idalia moves through the state, according to outage tracking website PowerOutage.us.

No county in the state is reporting a percentage of outages that would qualify as major, per the website. Less than ten percent of customers in most counties are without power, with some areas in the southern part of the state — where the storm was hitting as of Wednesday evening — experiencing more widespread outages.

See the full outage report here.

GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday evening that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) cleared all the state’s bridges less than 12 hours after Hurricane Idalia touched down.

“This is an important step in recovery and will allow first responders, law enforcement, utility linemen and supplies to come onto the island,” DeSantis said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Tropical Storm Idalia buffeted southern South Carolina as it swept northeast Wednesday evening.

The storm is expected to continue moving in the same general direction along the state’s coast overnight before beginning to shift eastward offshore the coast of North Carolina on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) forecast as of 8 p.m.

Coastal areas of Georgia and South Carolina are under tropical storm warnings Wednesday night, and the conditions are expected to spread over parts of the North Carolina coast through Thursday, according to the NHC. Georgia and the Carolinas remain at threat for flooding.

More than 440,000 customers remain without power in Florida and Georgia, according to outage-tracking website Poweroutage.us.

Approximately 217,000 customers are without power in Florida as Tropical Storm Idalia heads northward toward Georgia, where more than 224,000 are experiencing outages.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said in a press conference Wednesday evening that power has been restored to about 350,000 customers since the storm made landfall in his state Wednesday morning.

“We appreciate that the rapid attention to restoring power,” he said. “And clearly the area that has the most significant percentage outages are those Big Bend counties that bore the brunt of the storm, counties like Columbia, Madison, Dixie and people are working on that.”

He noted that there is no fuel shortage in the state and that there have been no confirmed fatalities due to the storm as of 6 p.m. Wednesday.

DeSantis also said that 30 of the 52 Florida school districts that were closed Wednesday will be reopened Thursday.

Southeastern Georgia was pounded by wind and rain Wednesday afternoon as Idalia churned its way across the state.

As of 5 p.m., the storm was moving to the northeast, its expected path for the night. Starting Thursday, it was forecast to turn eastward into the Atlantic off the coast of North Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Storm surge warnings peppered the coast, with surge of up to 4 feet expected off the Carolina coast.

Asked by a reporter about President Biden’s response that he is working well with Florida’s leadership, Gov. Ron DeSantis echoed the president, saying “helping people has got to triumph over any type of short term political calculation or any type of positioning.

“This is the real deal,” DeSantis said in a midafternoon press conference. “You have people’s lives that have been at risk. We don’t necessarily have any confirmed fatalities yet, but that very well may change. And then you have people whose livelihoods have been turned upside down, and so they need support. So we’re going to work together from local, state federal, regardless of party to be able to deliver results for the people and their time in need.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned people against looting as he addressed conditions in a press conference from Perry, Fla., in the Big Bend region where the hurricane made landfall.

“We are not going to tolerate any looting in the aftermath of a natural disaster. I mean, it’s just ridiculous that you would try to do something like that, on the heels of an almost Category 4 hurricane hitting this community,” he cautioned.

President Biden said politics has not come up in conversations with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.

“No, believe it or not,” Biden said when asked by a reporter whether he sensed politics creeping into discussions about the storm response.

“I know that sounds strange, especially [with] the nature of politics today. But I was down there in the last major storm. I spent a lot of time with him…making sure he had what he needed to get it done,” Biden said.

“I think he trusts my judgment and my desire to help, and I trust him to be able to suggest that this is not about politics, it’s about taking care of the people of his state,” he added.

— Brett Samuels

President Biden, in remarks addressing the government response to Idalia and the wildfires in Maui, pointed to the role of climate change in recent natural disasters.

“I don’t think anybody can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore,” Biden said. “Just look around. Historic floods, more intense droughts, extreme heat, significant wildfires that cause significant damage like we’ve never seen before.”

Biden said he has been in touch with the governors of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina about Idalia specifically, telling them that the White House was ready to mobilize support at a moment’s notice.

— Brett Samuels

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon that Hurricane Idalia dropped to Category 2 and is likely “fall to a tropical storm” as it moves throughout Georgia, heading into South Carolina. 

He said South Georgia endured heavy rainfall and heavy winds but most people in the state “will not feel the impact of the storm.”

– Rashad Simmons

The remains of four old chicken houses, now used for storage, sit collapsed after the passage of Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, on a private farm near Mayo, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

The core of Hurricane Idalia is now moving across southeastern Georgia, the National Hurricane Center reported at 2 p.m.

The storm is moving at 20 mph to the northeast, and is located about 10 miles NNW of Waycross, Ga.

The storm will likely bring flash and river flooding across Georgia and eastern Carolinas through Thursday.

External cameras on NASA’s International Space Station passed over Hurricane Idalia at 10:35 a.m. EDT Wednesday, capturing views of the storm after landfall. Idalia touched down near Keaton Beach, Fla., along the state’s Big Bend region just before 8 a.m. EDT as a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph.

Watch the video below:

Florida utility workers are “actively working” to restore power to the areas affected by Hurricane Idalia, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Wednesday afternoon.

More than 250,000 accounts were without power at the time of the afternoon press conference, with counties in the main pathway of the storm facing the highest percentage of power outages, the Florida governor said.

However, some 262,000 accounts that had lost power have been restored, DeSantis added.

— Julia Shapero

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed to reporters that President Biden has also spoken with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), over whose state the hurricane is now centered.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell said that the agency has plans in place in the event of a government shutdown.

She told reporters that a government shutdown would not impact FEMA personnel who are funded through the disaster relief fund. And, she said, she can designate other emergency essential personnel. Congress must fund the government ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline, but some House conservatives are embracing the possibility of a government shutdown

“We have plans in place — as we have gone through this before — on how we would staff our agency,” Criswell said.

— Alex Gangitano

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters that Hurricane Idalia is the strongest storm to “to make landfall in this part of Florida in over 100 years.”

Criswell said it was still too soon to assess the total damages from the storm, but storm surge peaked along parts of the coast at 15 feet and some areas saw up to 10 inches of rainfall.

There are nearly 300,000 customers without power in Florida, Criswell said, and those numbers are expected to rise as Idalia passes through Georgia, South Carolina and potentially parts of New Hampshire.

President Biden spoke to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) Wednesday, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Deanne Criswell told reporters.

Criswell, who talked to reporters after having just briefed the president in the Oval Office, said DeSantis told Biden that all his needs are currently met. Biden told the governor that if there is anything else Florida needs from the federal government, they are there to support.

Criswell is traveling to Florida later Wednesday to meet with DeSantis. There are more than 1,000 personnel on the ground in Florida, she said.

— Alex Gangitano

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon that there have been no confirmed fatalities from Hurricane Idalia so far.

However, he acknowledged that there have been unconfirmed reports of fatalities that “may end up becoming confirmed.”

“There’s a process for confirmed fatalities that goes through law enforcement and medical examiners,” the governor said, adding, “That has not been done yet where we have had a confirmation.”

— Julia Shapero

In a new tweet, Florida’s first lady Casey DeSantis said that a 100-year-old oak tree fell on the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee.

DeSantis shared that she and her three children were home at the time and no one was injured in the incident.

Tampa International Airport will reopen at 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday after it sustained minimal damage from Hurricane Idalia, according to a new statement.

It will reopen to arriving flights only at 4 p.m. today and to outgoing flights Thursday morning.

About 72,000 customers are without power in Georgia, according to PowerOutage.us.

Emergency crews are performing high-water vehicle rescues after Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region Wednesday morning.  

Kevin Guthrie, executive director of Florida’s Department of Emergency Management, said Wednesday high-water vehicle rescues are taking place from Pinellas County into Pasco County and in towns along Florida’s west coast including Palm Harbor, Clearwater and New Port Richey. 

Guthrie said in an interview on “CBS Mornings” that crews would use high-water vehicles in areas they can access, which are normally in two or three feet of water.

“If we have to shift to a flat bottom boat methodology, we’ll certainly do that,” he added.

— Miranda Nazzaro

Heavy rainfall from Idalia will continue to produce numerous instances of flash flooding, per the National Weather Service.

Florida’s Division of Emergency Management warned people against visiting areas affected by Idalia if they are not a resident, a first responder or a registered volunteer.

“‘Disaster sightseeing’ inhibits first responders and search & rescue operations, and puts your safety at risk,” the agency tweeted Wednesday morning.

As of 11 a.m., the National Hurricane Center released a new map showing Hurricane Idalia’s cone and warnings in effect.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is predicting 7-11 feet of storm surge for the Big Bend area of Florida where Hurricane Idalia made landfall.

NHC’s storm surge unit posted updated forecasts at 11 a.m., with predictions posted for the entire Gulf Coast of Florida and the East Coast stretching from the Flagler-Volusia county line up to the North Carolina-Virginia border.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell said Wednesday that her search-and-rescue teams are standing ready to aid state and local officials in making sure those in Florida who did not evacuate remain safe through the storm.

“Our biggest area of concern right now is, as this storm is moving inland, making sure that those people who did not choose to evacuate, that we have our search-and-rescue teams ready to support the state’s already really capable search-and-rescue teams that they have to go in and help support and help anybody that was stuck in harm’s way,” Criswell said in an interview on CNN Wednesday morning.

“So that is our focus this morning of making sure that anybody that was left in this area and needs help that we can get in there,” she added.

A woman surveys the flooding on Bayshore Boulevard along Old Tampa Bay after winds from Hurricane Idalia pushed water over the sea wall Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in Tampa, Fla. Idalia made landfall earlier this morning along the Big Bend region of the state. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

Strong winds from Hurricane Idalia are reaching into Georgia, according to the 10 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center.

A sustained 39 mph wind, with a gust of 63 mph, was reported in Valdosta, according to the Hurricane Center.

Idalia is moving NNE at 18 mph, and at 10 a.m. the storm was about 25 miles south of Valdosta.