The authorities of this state in the south-east of the United States have warned of “potentially fatal” coastal flooding phenomena, evoking a “major hurricane”. “Idalia is now a category 3 hurricane”, on the Saffir-Simpson scale which includes 5 in total, accompanied by winds reaching 195 km / h, announced the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in an update on the situation. Wednesday at 06:00 GMT.
The warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico are still likely to bolster Idalia, which reaches an extremely dangerous Category 4 intensity before it even hits the Florida coast, with winds expected between 209 and 251 km/h, the NHC said. Storm surges, causing water levels to rise 3 to 5 meters in some coastal areas, could cause disastrous flooding.
“Very few people can survive”
“Very few people can survive being in the way of a major coastal flood and this storm will be deadly if we don’t get out of harm’s way and take it seriously,” the boss said. Federal Disaster Response Agency (Fema), Deanne Criswell.
Category 3 or higher storms on the Saffir-Simpson scale are considered major weather phenomena. In Steinhatchee, a small town of a thousand people in northwest Florida, dozens of people were already preparing to evacuate on Tuesday evening. Robert Bryant was gathering things before setting off with his parents, their two cats and their dog to his grandmother’s house in Melrose, 150 km to the east.
“We are on the water, so we will be the most affected,” the 18-year-old, whose house on stilts is located at the mouth of the Steinhatchee River which flows into the gulf, told AFP. from Mexico. “We have to prepare for the worst,” he continued.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called on people in evacuation zones in 23 counties along the coast to leave “immediately,” adding that the hurricane would likely be the strongest to hit the region in more than a century. Parts of Florida could receive up to 30 centimeters of rain, according to the NHC.
Federal aid
US President Joe Biden on Monday approved a declaration of a state of emergency and released federal aid. Fema is already preparing for the consequences of the storm, in particular by deploying part of its staff in advance, according to the White House.
“I spoke to the governor last night, we’re in the process of providing whatever he might need. We’re in constant contact,” Biden said Tuesday of Mr. DeSantis, like him running for president. presidency in 2024. Tampa International Airport closed and flights were halted on the east coast of the United States, plagued by another hurricane, Franklin, which came from the Atlantic.
As a precaution, the states of South Carolina and Georgia, further north, have declared a state of emergency. “Idalia will likely still be a hurricane as it crosses southern Georgia, and possibly when it reaches the Georgia or southern South Carolina coast later in the day,” according to the NHC.
150 dead in last hurricane
On the western tip of Cuba, the heavy rains generated by the passage of Idalia, then still a tropical storm, caused flooding in several localities and deprived of electricity more than 200,000 users, including 90,000 in Havana, authorities announced. .
No casualties were reported immediately. Idalia then moved into the Gulf of Mexico, where “a marine heat wave” is currently raging, a hurricane-enhancing factor, the researchers said.
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.