Biden: Hurricane Idalia 'still dangerous' despite weakening

The worst of Hurricane Idalia appears to be over as storm surge warnings and watches for Florida were lifted Wednesday evening there, the National Hurricane Center said.

Idalia was also downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved over southeastern Georgia, the hurricane center said.

The storm surge watch had been discontinued along the Georgia coast, the center added in its advisory issued at 5 p.m. local time (2100 UTC).

The storm, however, continues to pose risks of localized flooding and strong winds in some parts of Georgia and the Carolinas into Thursday.

US President Joe Biden urged caution, saying Idalia was "still very dangerous" even though it has weakened in intensity.

Idalia roared into Florida's Big Bend region as a powerful hurricane Wednesday morning, bringing powerful winds and rains and knocking out power for thousands of people.

Falling tree kills man in Georgia, 280,0000 without power in Florida

A falling tree killed a man in Georgia who was clearing a blocked roadway, Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk told the Associated Press news agency.

A second person was seriously injured by the same tree and a sheriff's deputy suffered minor injuries, she said.

About 90% of homes and businesses in Lowndes County were without electricity as of Wednesday evening.

In one Florida county, officials added snakes to the list of potential dangers people may encounter while treading in flood waters.

The sheriff in the Florida county where Hurricane Idalia made landfall said there were no reports of deaths or serious injuries so far.

About 280,000 customers were without power in Florida, the vast majority of them in the Big Bend region, according to PowerOutage.us. 

Storm in southern Georgia

In Florida, authorities had feared a powerful storm surge may have inundated communities in the Big Bend region.

Idalia barreled into Florida's Gulf Coast with fierce winds, torrential rains and pounding surf before weakening and turning its fury on southeastern Georgia, where floodwaters trapped some people in their homes.

Category 3 hurricane

Hours after Idalia arrived as a powerful Category 3 hurricane at Keaton Beach, Florida, packing winds of about 125 miles per hour (201 kilometers per hour), authorities were still trying to assess the full extent of damage in the worst-hit areas.

At a late afternoon press conference, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — who is in the running to be the Republican nominee for president in 2024 — said there were no immediate reports of hurricane-related fatalities.

DeSantis also said that it seemed most residents in vulnerable, low-lying areas had heeded evacuation orders and warnings to move to higher ground while President Biden confirmed he was regularly in touch with all affected state governors.

rm, jsi/kb (AP, Reuters)