Tropical Storm Idalia moved across the South after making landfall Wednesday morning as an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 hurricane in Florida’s Big Bend region, the first hurricane in recorded history to hit the area.
As of 8 p.m., the storm’s winds had decreased to roughly 65 mph and it was located in South Carolina, about 60 miles west of Charleston, according to the National Hurricane Center. Idalia hit land at 7:45 a.m. with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph at Keaton Beach.
Tropical storm and storm surge warnings have been canceled along the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Some areas have gotten as much as 10 inches of rain and a 15-foot storm surge, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell.
Follow along here for 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.