Idalia weakens to tropical storm after hitting Florida as powerful hurricane

The National Hurricane Centre’s latest advisory said the storm was centred west of Savannah, Georgia, later on Wednesday and had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.

Hurricane force winds are at least 74 mph.

Idalia roared ashore early Wednesday with 125 mph winds and unleashed devastation along a wide stretch of the Gulf Coast.

It submerged homes and vehicles, turning streets into rivers, unmooring small boats and downing power lines before sweeping into Georgia.

Almost 438,000 customers in Florida and Georgia lost power while rushing water covered streets near the coast.

As the eye moved inland, high winds shredded signs, sent sheet metal flying and snapped tall trees.

Idalia came ashore in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula.

It made landfall as a high-end Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph.

There were no confirmed storm deaths in Florida, although fatal traffic accidents in two counties may end up being storm-related, Florida governor Ron DeSantis said at a news conference.

A 59-year-old man driving a lorry in heavy rain veered off the road outside Gainesville. In Dade City a 40-year-old man lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a tree, authorities said.

State officials, 5,500 National Guardsman and rescue crews were in search-and-recovery mode, inspecting bridges, clearing toppled trees and looking for anyone in distress in one of Florida’s most rural regions.

Because of the remoteness, search teams may need more time to complete their work compared with past hurricanes in more urban areas, said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Department of Emergency Management.

On the island of Cedar Key, downed trees and debris blocked roads, and propane tanks exploded.

The system remained a hurricane as it crossed into Georgia with top winds of 90 mph after drenching Florida mostly to the east of Tallahassee. Forecasters said it would punish the Carolinas overnight as a tropical storm.

Some models had predicted that Idalia could circle southward toward land again after that, but the National Hurricane Centre predicted it would move deeper into the Atlantic this weekend.

Astounded by the flooding that turned Tampa’s Bayshore Boulevard into a river, Bill Hall watched a paddleboarder ride along the major thoroughfare.

“This is actually unbelievable,” Mr Hall said. “I haven’t seen anything like this in years.”

In Tallahassee, Florida’s capital, the power went out well before the centre of the storm arrived, but the city avoided a direct hit. A giant oak tree next to the governor’s mansion split in half, covering the yard with debris.

“If they do cut down the whole tree, that is more room for my kids to hit baseballs,” Mr DeSantis said.

Storm surge could rise as high as 16ft in some places. Some counties implemented curfews to keep residents off roads.

Diane Flowers was sound asleep at 1am, but her husband was up watching the weather on TV when he got a text from their son, a firefighter, after the storm was upgraded to a Category 4.

“He said ‘You guys need to leave’,” Mrs Flowers said. “And he’s not one for overreacting, so when he told us to leave, we just packed our stuff, got in our car and got going.”

The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend.

The state, still dealing with lingering damage from last year’s Hurricane Ian, feared disastrous results.

Idalia grew into a Category 2 system on Tuesday and then a Category 3 storm on Wednesday before peaking as a Category 4 hurricane. It then weakened slightly.

Airports in the region, including Tampa International Airport, planned to restart commercial operations either later Wednesday or Thursday.

As he finished tying down about 20 sailboats and motor yachts docked on Wilmington Island east of Savannah, Georgia, Brandon Long said his biggest worry was that the storm surge was forecast to coincide with a higher-than-normal tide.

“If these docks float off their pylons or come apart because of the violent current and the choppy waters, then that’s what destroys a marina,” said Mr Long, owner of the Bull River Marina.

Officials in Bermuda warned that Idalia could hit the island early next week as a tropical storm.

Bermuda on Wednesday was being lashed by the outer bands of Hurricane Franklin, a Category 2 storm that was on track to pass near the island in the north Atlantic Ocean.