Hurricane Idalia makes landfall on Florida's west coast

Hurricane Idalia made landfall on Wednesday as it headed toward Florida's Gulf Coast, forcing evacuations in low-lying coastal areas, while South Carolina went into a state of emergency.

Idalia grew from a tropical storm into a hurricane early on Tuesday, a day after passing west of Cuba, where it damaged homes and flooded villages.

Biden may adjust schedule

Later on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said he may have to alter his schedule as a result of Idalia

Biden said he had spoken with the governors of all potentially affected states and reassured them that the federal government would provide any help required.

Asked if he was making contingency plans for his travel schedule for the Labor Day weekend or his planned participation in the Group of 20 leaders summit in India, Biden said, "Well I may, I just don't know yet."

What is the situation in Florida?

Idalia came ashore at 7:45 a.m. EDT (1145 GMT) at Keaton Beach, an ocean-front community of 13,000 people. The town is at the center of the Big Bend region, where the state's northern panhandle curves into the Florida Peninsula.

"It's just ripping through Taylor County now. Hope all is safe," County Commissioner Jamie English told the Reuters news agency. "Winds gusting. Terrible power outages all over. Debris flying everywhere."

Millions of the state's residents fled to higher ground on Wednesday, as Idalia intensified into a dangerous Category 3 hurricane.

Any storm which reaches Category 3 or higher is considered a major hurricane. The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia "an unprecedented event" since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay adjoining the Big Bend.

And UBS anticipates Idalia to end up resulting in an insurance cost of some $9.36 billion (€8.57 billion), based on preliminary estimates, the brokers said Wednesday.

Idalia is the fourth major hurricane to hit Florida in the last seven years, after Irma in 2017, Michael in 2018 and Ian, which peaked at Category 5, in September 2022.

Meteorologist Matthew Cappucci told DW that people's response to the evacuation advice was impacted by prior experience, where previous storms were not as strong.

"But the problem is, they've never experienced anything like what they will today. They have no basis of comparison and they sometimes make very poor decisions," he said before the hurricane made landfall.

South Carolina declares state of emergency

Meanwhile, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster has issued a state of emergency, as a measure to help residents ward off the impact of Idalia.

Most of Florida's residents, numbering more than 20 million, along with many in Georgia and South Carolina, were under hurricane, tropical storm and storm surge warnings and advisories. A state of emergency has also been declared in Florida.

US President Joe Biden said he and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — who is in the running to be the Republican candidate for president in 2024— were "in constant contact."

Biden added that he had assured DeSantis that federal disaster assistance would remain in place for as "long as it takes, and we'll make sure they have everything they need."

Governor DeSantis also asked people to evacuate. "You really gotta go now. Now is the time," he said.

Earlier, the governor had said that residents needed to get to "higher ground in a safe structure," and not necessarily leave the state.

rmt, jsi/kb (AP, Reuters)