Videos of Hurricane Idalia Show Damage, Flooding in Florida
Powerful storm surge from Hurricane Idalia poured into Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday morning, causing devastating damage as the Category 3 storm made landfall.
Forecasters warned Floridians for days that Idalia would quickly strengthen in the warm Gulf water as it moved past Cuba and approached the state. It made landfall at about 7:45 a.m. near Keaton Beach in Taylor County, about 75 miles southeast of Tallahassee.
One of the most dangerous aspects of the storm is the storm surge, or the rise in sea level that occurs during a hurricane. There also was a super moon overnight, meaning that high tides were already a foot higher than normal, adding more damage potential. Several videos of the storm surge's damage began circulating on social media on Wednesday morning.
Water rose at least 10 feet at Horseshoe Beach in Dixie County, according to video from a camera that captured the surge and the rolling waves.
In another video, cars are seen driving down the Howard Frankland Bridge, which connects St. Petersburg to Tampa over Old Tampa Bay, as ocean water begins to encroach across the highway.
Another video shows storm surge rushing into a condominium in Cedar Key. AccuWeather senior meteorologist Adam Douty told Newsweek that storm surge was around 6.8 feet in Cedar Key.
"Storm surge causing structural damage and blowing out the doors of condo complex in Cedar Key, FL from Hurricane Idalia," meteorologist Reed Timmer posted on X, formerly Twitter.
The video has been viewed nearly 70,000 times.
A roof had flown off of the Seaside Resort on Fort Myers Beach in one video that was viewed more than 8,000 times as of Wednesday afternoon.
A video by the Weather Channel showed the storm's landfall in Keaton Beach where waters flooded the Gulf Coast community.
Spectrum News 13 shared a time-lapse video from Steinhatchee as storm surge rushed through the town.
"Moving across the center of your screen? That's a dumpster," Bay News 9 anchor Jeff Butera posted when sharing the video.
Hurricane Idalia's winds also were severe, and one video taken in Perry showed the wind snapping a tree in half.
Storm surge could exceed 12 feet along Florida's Big Bend, with areas just north and south receiving up to 12 feet, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) advised. Nearly all of the state's Gulf Coast is at risk for some surge, and the northeastern Florida coast as well as the coast of Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina are expected to see 3 to 6 feet.
"The worst has probably been seen, but there will be issues with higher water levels for the rest of the day," Douty told Newsweek.
Storm surge is the deadliest aspect to a hurricane, as many people are unprepared for how quickly the water rises.
"Surge is a special threat that sometimes not as many people have seen it," AccuWeather chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter previously told Newsweek. "We have all seen rain and wind and kind of have a sense of how bad that can be. Surge on average not as many people have seen and how quickly that water level can come up. It tends to catch people who are unprepared off guard."
Idalia is predicted to impact Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina before exiting into the Atlantic Ocean. Some forecast models show the storm curving back around to hit Florida a second time, although most tracks show the storm fizzling out in the Atlantic Ocean.
Update 08/30/2023, 2:53 p.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.
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