Florida begins recovery after ‘significant damage' left by Hurricane Idalia
At a news conference Thursday morning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said response operations were still ongoing, including search and rescue and debris removal
Floridians are already working to put their communities back together, one day after a Category 3 hurricane brought record storm surges to the region.
Recovery efforts were continuing in Florida Thursday, just a day after Hurricane Idalia roared ashore as a powerful Category 3 storm, leaving heavy flooding, knocking out power to more than 500,000, and causing extensive damage.
Idala made landfall Wednesday morning along Florida's remote Big Bend area, pummeling the area with 125 mph winds.
At a news conference Thursday morning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said response operations were still ongoing in the area, including search and rescue and debris removal.
"There has been significant damage, particularly along Florida's Big Bend, but the community's resilient and we're going to work hard to make sure people get what they need," DeSantis said.
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As of Thursday afternoon, just one storm-related death had been confirmed in the state, which was a traffic fatality in Alachua County, DeSantis said.
DeSantis said as of Wednesday night, around 40 rescues had been made of people who found themselves trapped. Crews were still conducting highwater and welfare checks on Thursday.
Power had been restored to more than 400,000 who lost it during the storm, DeSantis said, but more than 100,000 were still waiting for their power to be restored Thursday evening.
"There will be significant progress within 48 hours," DeSantis said. “I don't think that we'd be in a position to say that it could be fully restored, just simply because if there's structural damage you are going to have to rebuild some of that stuff. If it's a reconnect, we've got the people there."
The bulk of the outages were in the Big Bend area. That area, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula, saw streets turned into rivers that submerged cars and homes, while the howling winds tore off roofs, snapped tall trees, sent sheet metal flying and shredded homes.
Recovery efforts were continuing in Florida, just a day after Hurricane Idalia roared ashore as a powerful Category 3 storm. NBC6's Jamie Guirola reports
“All hell broke loose,” said Belond Thomas of Perry, a mill town located just inland from the Big Bend region. Thomas fled with her family and some friends to a motel, thinking it would be safer than riding out the storm at home but the roof was torn away and debris showered onto her pregnant daughter, who fortunately wasn’t injured, Thomas said.
At Horseshoe Beach in central Big Bend, Jewell Baggett picked through the wreckage and debris of her mother’s destroyed home, finding a few pictures and her mother’s pots and pans.
Her grandfather built the home decades ago and it had survived four previous storms, she said.
“And now it’s gone,” she said. “Nothing left. A few little trinkets here and there.”
Baggett, whose mother had left before the storm hit, said at least five or six other homes also were destroyed.
The powerful storm left a huge trail of destruction which saw roofs completely ripped off from their foundations, massive flooding and personal belongings scattered all over the streets.
In Tallahassee, the power went out well before the center 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.
State officials, 5,500 National Guardsman and rescue crews went into search-and-recovery mode, inspecting bridges, clearing toppled trees and looking for anyone in distress. More than 30,000 utility workers gathered to repair downed power lines and poles.
DeSantis requested and received a major disaster declaration from the federal government for the 25 counties that had been under a hurricane warning. The declaration will assist with debris removal and individual assistance including providing shelter and temporary housing for those impacted.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell, who attended the Thursday morning news conference with DeSantis, had said the declaration was being quickly processed.
DeSantis and Criswell planned later Thursday to “see first-hand" the destruction left behind by Idalia.
Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP via Getty Images
Cars attempt to drive on a flooded road in Tampa, Florida, Aug. 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall.
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Makatla Ritchter evacuates her home through floodwaters caused by storm surge from Hurricane Idalia on Aug. 30, 2023, in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
Juan Manuel Barrero Bueno/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Residents walk through floodwaters from Hurricane Idalia in Gulfport, Florida, Aug. 30, 2023.
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Flood waters inundate downtown after Hurricane Idalia passed offshore, Aug. 30, 2023, in Tarpon Springs, Florida. The storm made landfall as a category 3 storm.
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A truck passes through flooded streets caused by Hurricane Idalia passing offshore on Aug. 30, 2023, in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
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A woman walks through flooded water along Bayshore Blvd caused by storm surge from Hurricane Idalia, Aug. 30, 2023, in Tampa, Florida. Idalia made landfall earlier this morning along the Big Bend of the state.
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Police man a roadblock to keep cars from driving through flood waters on Aug. 30, 2023, in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Hurricane Idalia slammed into Florida’s West Coast as a category 3 storm early Wednesday morning.
Kegan Ward
Storm surges flood Cedar Keys, Florida, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the Big Bend area, Aug. 30, 2023.
Kegan Ward
Floodwater and debris from Hurricane Idalia cover parts of Cedar Key, Florida, after the storm made landfall as a category 3 hurricane, Aug. 30, 2023.
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A person rides a kayak through flooded streets as Hurricane Idalia passes offshore, Aug. 30, 2023 in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
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A flooded street from Hurricane Idalia in Gulfport, Florida, Aug. 30, 2023. Hurricane Idalia has knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers, grounded more than 800 flights and unleashed floods along Florida’s coast far from where it came ashore as a Category 3 storm earlier today.
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A flooded street is seen near the Steinhatchee marina in Steinhatchee, Florida, Aug. 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall.
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Members of the Tampa Fire Rescue Dept., remove a street pole after large awnings from an apartment building blew off from Hurricane Idalia, Aug. 30, 2023, in Tampa, Florida. Idalia made landfall earlier this morning along the Big Bend of the state.
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Makatla Ritchter, left, and her mother, Keiphra Line wade through flood waters after evacuating their home, Aug. 30, 2023, in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
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People try to free a car stuck on the shoulder amid storm debris as Hurricane Idalia crosses the state, Aug. 30, 2023, near Mayo, Florida. The storm made landfall at Keaton Beach, Florida as category 3 hurricane.
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A resident rides a bicycle through floodwaters from Hurricane Idalia in Gulfport, Florida, Aug. 30, 2023.
Chris O'Meara/AP
Flood waters pour over the sea wall along Old Tampa Bay as paddle boarder Zeke Pierce, of Tampa, rides alongside it, Aug. 30, 2023, in Tampa, Florida. Hurricane Idalia swamped coastlines from Tampa to Tallahassee as it made landfall in the Big Bend region Wednesday morning.
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Residents use kayaks to travel on a flooded road in Tampa, Florida, Aug. 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall.
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A car drives through a flooded street in Tampa, Florida, Aug. 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall.
Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP via Getty Images
A car drives through a flooded street in Tampa, Florida, Aug. 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall.
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A City of Tallahassee electrical worker assesses damage to power lines after a tree fell on Old St. Augustine, a canopy road, in Tallahassee, Florida.
Chris O'Meara/AP
A man runs across a flooded Bayshore Blvd., from the storm surge brought on by Hurricane Idalia, Aug. 30, 2023, in Tampa, Florida.
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Reporters wade through flood waters as it inundates the downtown area after Hurricane Idalia passed offshore on Aug. 30, 2023, in Tarpon Springs, Florida.
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A street in Tampa, Florida, is flooded with storm surges caused by Hurricane Idalia, Aug. 30, 2023.
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Cars sit in a flooded street caused by storm surges from Hurricane Idalia, Aug. 30, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Florida.
