Florida braces for Hurricane Idalia

Hurricane Idalia barrelled towards the west coast of Florida yesterday, triggering mass evacuation orders and flood alerts as authorities warned the storm could strengthen to “extremely dangerous” levels before landfall.
The US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that Idalia, a Category 1 storm with winds of 85mph (140kph), was churning yesterday morning off Florida’s southwest, and bringing tropical storm conditions to western Cuba and flooding in Havana.
Idalia was expected to reach Category 3 force – classified as a major hurricane, with sustained winds of at least 111mph (179kph) – on the five-step Saffir-Simpson wind scale by the time it reaches Florida today, the NHC said, which will cause “devastating damage”.
Warm Gulf of Mexico waters near 31° Celsius (88° Fahrenheit) are expected to turbocharge Idalia into an “extremely dangerous major hurricane before landfall” today the NHC said.
Idalia is in line to become the fourth major hurricane to strike Florida over the past seven years, following Irma in 2017, Michael in 2018 and Ian, which peaked at Category 5, last September.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged those in the evacuation areas along the Gulf coast to go “now”.
“You don’t have to go hundreds of miles,” he told a news conference.
Evacuation orders have been issued in 22 counties, and more than 20 emergency shelters have been opened, he said.
Almost 150 people were killed last year when Hurricane Ian slammed Florida’s west coast as a devastating Category 4 storm and peaking at Category 5 at times, bringing storm surges and heavy winds that downed bridges, swept away buildings, and caused over $100bn worth of damage.
Idalia is expected to make impact farther north along the coast, in the so-called “Big Bend” area – a vast marshy region which, unlike most other coastal areas around Florida, does not have barrier islands.
The NHC said in its latest advisory that forecasts were increasingly confident Idalia would “reach the coast of Florida adjacent to Apalachee Bay” this morning and could bring “storm surge inundation of 10-15’ (3-5m) above ground level”.
In Steinhatchee, one of the small towns dotting the Big Bend, Robert Bryant was making final preparations to evacuate inland with his two cats and a dog.
“We are out on the water, so we are going to be the worst ones to get hit,” said the 18-year-old student, whose home built on stilts lies close to the mouth of a river. “Hopefully, it just blows over and we have a bit of wind ... but you prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”
In Sarasota – a city hard-hit by Ian last year – Milton Bontrager’s home is boarded up and stocked with food, water and a generator.
“I don’t panic, I prepare,” said Bontrager, 40, who runs six sport and charter fishing boats in Venice, near Tampa.
He stopped taking customers out days ago so he could secure the boats.
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) has also deployed staff.
The Tampa International Airport has closed for the storm while the nearby US Air Force base has ordered a mandatory evacuation of “non-mission essential individuals and dependents”.
Georgia and South Carolina are also under storm watches as the system is expected to cross northeast over Florida before exiting into the Atlantic.
On Monday thousands of Cubans rushed out of the storm’s way as the provinces of Pinar del Rio and Artemisa as well as Isla de la Juventud, an island, were placed under hurricane warnings.
Streets were flooded in Havana and some of the island nation’s western provinces as Idalia brushed past.
After clipping Cuba the storm moved out over the Gulf, which scientists say is experiencing a “marine heatwave” – energising Idalia’s winds as it races towards Florida.
On Monday, Idalia dumped rain on Mexico’s state of Quintana Roo, home to Cancun and other coastal tourist resorts.
Scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer due to climate change.