Hurricane Idalia grinds into Georgia after slamming Florida
livemint.comHurricane Idalia brought torrential rain and threats of flash flooding on Wednesday afternoon to southeast Georgia after slamming into Florida, where authorities feared a powerful storm surge may have inundated communities in the Big Bend region. Authorities in Florida were still trying to carry out damage assessments in the hardest-hit areas as water rescues of trapped residents were under way in southern Georgia. Video footage and photographs from the region showed ocean waters washing over highways and neighborhoods swamped by extensive flooding at midday.
More than 75 people have been rescued from flood waters in St. Petersburg, the city said on the X social media platform. A video showed two rescue workers in a small boat traveling through a flooded neighborhood in heavy rains.
In Valdosta, Georgia, about 80 miles (129 km) northeast of Tallahassee, emergency boat crews were carrying out rescues of residents trapped in homes, according to the city's Facebook page. No other details were immediately available. Drawing strength from the Gulf of Mexico's warm waters, Idalia unleashed destructive winds and torrential downpours that were forecast to cause flooding up to 16 feet (5 m) deep along Florida's Gulf Coast.
By early Wednesday afternoon, the eye of Idalia had left Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis said at a press conference. He added that parts of the state, particularly in the north, were still being buffeted by storm bands. Florida's Gulf Coast, southeastern Georgia and eastern parts of North and South Carolina could face 4 to 8 inches (10-20 cm) of rain through Thursday, with isolated areas seeing as much as a foot of rain, the National Hurricane Center warned.
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