Hurricane Idalia weakens over Georgia after punching Florida
Tropical Storm Idalia worked its way northeast over South Carolina on Wednesday night. Storm surge warnings were in effect in coastal South Carolina.
LEARN MOREPosted: 3:24 p.m. EDT Aug 30, 2023
As Hurricane Idalia made landfall, Florida’s first lady, Casey DeSantis, shared that a century-old tree collapsed on their home while she and the children were inside.
"100-year-old oak tree falls on the Governor’s Mansion in Tallahassee—Mason, Madison, Mamie, and I were home at the time, but thankfully no one was injured," the first lady posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Our prayers are with everyone impacted by the storm."
Idalia is now down to Category 1 with top sustained winds of 75 mph and continuing to weaken as it moves into the Carolinas.
The storm slammed into Florida's west coast Wednesday morning, bringing catastrophic flooding and destructive winds with it.
Several counties along the coast are seeing flooding.
In Hillsborough County, the Alafia River that flows into Tampa Bay has reached major flood stage because of a significant storm surge.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Deanne Criswell says she'll fly to Florida Wednesday and tour damaged areas tomorrow with Gov. DeSantis.
According to Criswell, Idalia is the strongest storm to hit Florida's Big Bend in over 100 years.
So far, only one confirmed fatality related to the hurricane has been reported, in Dade City, Florida, which is near Tampa.
