NATURE AND ENVIRONMENTUNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Hurricane Idalia strengthens, S. Carolina state of emergency
2 hours ago2 hours ago
Idalia is Florida-bound and has strengthened to a Category 2 storm with 100 mph winds as it barrels toward the state’s Gulf Coast. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has issued a state of emergency.
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Hurricane Idalia
Idalia is now at hurricane levelImage: NOAA/AP/picture alliance
Hurricane Idalia strengthened over the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday as it headed towards Florida’s Gulf Coast, forcing evacuations in low-lying coastal areas, while South Carolina went into a state of emergency.
Idalia grew from a tropical storm into a hurricane early on Tuesday, a day after passing west of Cuba, where it damaged homes and flooded villages.
Idalia has already wreaked havoc in CubaImage: Alexandre Meneghini/REUTERS
Idalia expected to make landfall early Wednesday
By early Tuesday afternoon, the storm was already some 240 miles (390 kilometers) southwest of Tampa as it moved northward.
Forecasters predict the weather system will come ashore early on Wednesday morning with winds of at least 111 miles per hour (179 kilometers per hour).
The hurricane is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 in Florida’s Big Bend region early Wednesday. The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay adjoining the Big Bend.
Idalia is in line to become the fourth major hurricane to hit Florida in the last seven years, after Irma in 2017, Michael in 2018 and Ian, which peaked at Category 5, in September 2022.
South Carolina declares state of emergency
Meanwhile, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has issued a state of emergency, as a measure to help residents ward off the impact of Idalia.
Florida residents prepare sandbags ahead of the arrival of Hurricane IdaliaImage: John Raoux/AP/picture alliance
Most of Florida’s residents, numbering more than 20 million, along with many in Georgia and South Carolina, were under hurricane, tropical storm and storm surge warnings and advisories. A state emergency has also been declared in Florida.
US President Joe Biden said he and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — who is in the running to be the Republican candidate for president in 2024— were “in constant contact.”
Biden added that he had assured DeSantis that federal disaster assistance would remain in place for as “long as it takes, and we’ll make sure they have everything they need.”
Governor DeSantis also asked people to evacuate. “You really gotta go now. Now is the time,” he said.
Earlier, the governor had said that residents needed to get to “higher ground in a safe structure,” and not necessarily leave the state.
Florida residents brace for Idalia
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jsi/kb (AP, Reuters)
