Florida is facing widespread flooding on Wednesday after Hurricane Idalia, now a tropical storm, tore up trees and power lines in its wake and swept through the state of Georgia.
Idalia, which carried winds of up to 150 km/h, made landfall at 7:45 a.m. local time near Keaton Beach, Florida as a Category 3 hurricane on a scale of 5, according to the National Hurricane Center. (NHC). It has since been downgraded to a tropical storm.
The waters have risen quickly in some cities, but the state has no fatalities so far, Governor Ron DeSantis said at a press conference.
In Perry, a town located on the trajectory of Idalia, dozens of trees were downed by the wind. While city workers try to clear the streets, residents see the damage.
A pine fell on the home of John Kallschmidt, 76, who says he had a “scary” experience.
“It was worse than we expected,” he told AFP. “But that’s how it is, that’s life in Florida. You have to get used to that stuff.”
A little further, in Steinhatchee, a small coastal town of a thousand inhabitants, the main street, almost deserted, is completely flooded and seems to be an extension of the neighboring river.
Patrick Boland has sealed himself off at home instead of evacuating, and does not regret his choice.
“Trees fell in front of my house but otherwise the house was spared. Everything is fine,” the 73-year-old told AFP, visibly relieved.
Other cities have seen water levels rise at high speed, such as Cedar Key, located on the coast, which reported waves of more than 2 meters, a record level for the area.
In some places, like Tampa, flooding has forced residents to travel with their belongings on their heads, or even in kayaks.
Despite the damage, the authorities seem to consider that the worst has been avoided. “We have been spared and blessed,” said Levy County Sheriff Robert McCallum.
Some of the affected areas “have never been hit by a major hurricane before,” Governor Ron DeSantis said.
President Joe Biden, however, recalled that it was necessary to “stay vigilant”, because the storm continues its way through the south-east of the United States.
Nearly 300,000 homes were without electricity Wednesday in Florida and more than 200,000 in Georgia, according to the specialized site Poweroutage.us.
“Idalia is the most powerful storm to make landfall in this part of Florida in more than 100 years,” said Deanne Criswell, head of the federal agency responsible for the response to natural disasters (Fema), adding that 1,500 federal employees had been deployed.
US President Joe Biden spoke again on Wednesday with Mr. DeSantis, like him a candidate for president in 2024, to show his support and coordinate the federal response, she said.
Tampa International Airport, closed due to the hurricane, is due to reopen Wednesday afternoon while flights were interrupted on the east coast of the United States, plagued by another hurricane, Franklin, which came from the Atlantic.
On the western tip of Cuba, the heavy rains generated by Idalia also caused flooding and power cuts.
At the end of September 2022, Florida had already been hit by Hurricane Ian, which killed nearly 150 people and caused extensive damage as it passed through the southwest of this state.
Scientists have warned that the storms are getting more powerful as the planet heats up due to climate change.
“I don’t think anyone can deny the effects of climate change now. Just look around,” noted Joe Biden, citing “historic floods” or recent devastating fires in Hawaii and Canada.
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08/30/2023 23:24:37 – Perry (United States) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP