Authorities on Tuesday, August 29, instructed residents along Florida’s western coastline to evacuate in anticipation of Hurricane Idalia. Meteorologists warned that the storm was intensifying over an unusually warm Gulf of Mexico and was expected to transform into an “extremely perilous” hurricane before reaching land.
Residents along Florida’s west coast were under orders to evacuate Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Idalia’s arrival, as forecasters said the storm was strengthening over an exceptionally warm Gulf of Mexico and would likely become “extremely dangerous” before landfall.
Idalia, which the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said had become a Category 1 hurricane overnight, was churning Tuesday morning hundreds of miles off Florida’s southwest, and bringing tropical storm conditions to western Cuba.
Major hurricanes are usually a Category 3 or higher on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale, storms that the NHC says can cause “devastating” and “catastrophic” damage.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged those in the evacuation areas along the Gulf coast to go “now.”
More than 100 people were killed last year when Hurricane Ian slammed Florida’s west coast as a devastating Category 4 storm, bringing storm surges and heavy winds that downed bridges, swept away buildings, and caused over $100 billion worth of damage.
US President Joe Biden spoke with DeSantis on Monday and approved an emergency declaration for the state, promising it would have his full support, a White House spokesman said.
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is preparing for the storm’s impact, including by deploying some of its staff, according to the White House.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
