Hurricane Idalia brings 'life-threatening' flooding to the Carolinas – live - The Independent

Hurricane Idalia brings ‘life-threatening’ flooding to Carolinas as Florida surveys storm’s damage - live | The Independent

Hurricane Idalia brings ‘life-threatening’ flooding to the Carolinas as Florida surveys storm’s damage – live

Hurricane Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach, Florida, on Wednesday morning before charting path inland through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina

Louise Boyle,

Stuti Mishra,

Rachel Sharp,
Oliver O'Connell Comments

Tropical storm Idalia has left at least three people dead across Florida and Georgia as it now continues to hammer North Carolina with life-threatening flooding.

Idalia ploughed into Florida as a Category 3 Hurricane on Wednesday morning, before making its way inland through Georgia and the Carolinas.

Terrifying videos coming out of Florida have shown a car being flipped into the air by a huge gust of wind and a gas station roof being blown off.

Florida Highway Patrol said that two men were killed in two separate weather-related road accidents on Wednesday morning in the Sunshine State. Meanwhile in Georgia, a man was killed by a falling tree while he was trying to clear another tree off a highway.

Florida began its recovery efforts after the storm passed through on Wednesday, with Governor Ron DeSantis warning looters that they could be shot if they try to target affected communities.

As of 5am ET on Thursday morning, the National Hurricane Center said that flooding due to heavy rains and strong winds would continue to ravage coastal North Carolina throughout today. Idalia is then expected to chart its path out into the Atlantic later on Thursday.
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Hurricanes are getting stronger. Here’s why

As the global average temperature increases, largely due to the carbon emissions from burning fossil fuels, the ocean is taking a major hit.

The ocean has absorbed 90 per cent of warming in recent decades and all that extra heat is driving historically high water temperatures.

Warmer waters supercharge tropical cyclones with more heavy rainfall and storm surge as they come ashore.

While the frequency of hurricanes of tropical storms is not increasing, the chance that they become stronger, more destructive systems has increased by about 8 per cent per decade in the past 40 years, according to climate scientists.

The proportion of Category 4 and 5 tropical cyclones is projected to increase around the world in the coming decades due to human-caused warming, according to the latest report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from 1 June to 30 November, is forecast to be above average this year.
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Satellite images show before and after of Hurricane Idalia

A satellite view shows Ozello before and after flooding caused by Hurricane Idalia

A satellite view shows Ozello before flooding caused by Hurricane Idalia in Florida, U.S., January 12, 2023

A satellite view shows Ozello after flooding caused by Hurricane Idalia in Florida, U.S., on 30 August 2023

A combination picture shows satellite images of Crystal River before and after flooding
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Watch: DeSantis warns against looting in aftermath of Hurricane Idalia
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Voices: The hidden crisis looming behind Hurricane Idalia

Skylar Baker-Jordan writes:

Working in the mortgage industry in the 2010s, I knew three things to be true about Florida real estate transactions: closings do not require an attorney, it has a decent homebuyer assistance program, and homeowners’ insurance was becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. This is bad news for a state that already has homeowners’ insurance rates four times higher than the national average, making it the most expensive state for homeowner’s insurance.

Read on...

The hidden crisis looming behind Hurricane Idalia

Believing in climate change – with all the scientific evidence to support it – is a bridge too far for Ron DeSantis
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Ron DeSantis warns post-Idalia looters they’ll be shot

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has warned looters who target homes and businesses in the wake of Hurricane Idalia that they’ll be shot.

At a press conference on Wednesday, the governor reminded would-be thieves that Florida has a lot of Second Amendment advocates who will not hesitate to take action.

“I’d also just remind potential looters – you never know what you’re walking into,” he said.

“People have a right to defend their property. This part of Florida, you got a lot of advocates and proponents of the Second Amendment, and I’ve seen signs in different people’s yards in the past after these disasters, and I would say it’s probably here – ‘You loot, we shoot.’”

He added: “I’ve told all of our personnel at the state level, you know, you protect people’s property and we are not going to tolerate any looting in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

“You never know what’s behind that door. If you go break into somebody’s house and you’re trying to loot, these are people that are going to be able to defend themselves and their families.

“Don’t even think about looting. Don’t even think about taking advantage of people in this vulnerable situation,” DeSantis said at the time, claiming that some people were “bringing boats” onto storm-ravaged islands and “trying to ransack people’s homes.

“I can tell you, in the state of Florida, you never know what may be lurking behind somebody’s home, and I would not wanna chance that if I were you, given that we’re a Second Amendment state.”
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Three people so far killed in storm Idalia

At least three people have been killed as a result of Storm Idalia which ploughed into the state of Florida as a Category 3 Hurricane on Wednesday morning.

Florida Highway Patrol said that two men were killed in two separate weather-related road accidents on Wednesday morning.

Over in Georgia, a man was killed by a falling tree on Wednesday afternoon.

Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office said that that man had been cutting another tree that had fallen onto a highway when the tree fell on him.

Sheriff Ashley Paulk told The Associated Press: “The guy was out working on cleaning up a tree in the road, just a local citizen doing good things.

“A big gust of wind came up and dropped another tree, killed him instantly.”

A second person was also seriously injured and a sheriff’s deputy suffered minor injuries in the incident.
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Tracker: Where is Idalia going now?

Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Keaton Beach, Florida, on Wednesday morning.

It then moved inland through Florida, Georgia and into South Carolina.

Tropical Storm Idalia charted a path along South Carolina’s coast through Wednesday night. A 2am ET update from the National Hurricane Center wanted of life-threatening flash flooding along southeastern North Carolina.

Idalia is expected to move offshore near North Carolina’s coast later on Thursday.
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WATCH: Terrifying moment tornado flips car with two inside
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Tree falls on DeSantis mansion with his family inside as Hurricane Idalia rocks Florida

Casey DeSantis, the wife of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, told her followers on X/Twitter that a 100-year-old oak tree toppled over onto the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee.

She said she and her children were home at the time the tree came down, but no one was injured.

Graig Graziosi has the story.

Tree falls on Ron DeSantis’ mansion as Hurricane Idalia rocks Florida

No one was injured

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Life-threatening flash flooding continues to hit North Carolina

In a 5am ET update, the National Hurricane Center said that heavy rainfall and life-threatening flash flooding is continuing to hit North Carolina.

“Tropical Storm #Idalia Advisory 19: Heavy Rainfall and Life-Threatening Flash Flooding Continues in Portions of Eastern North Carolina. http://hurricanes.gov,” the agency tweeted.