PERRY, Florida--Hurricane Idalia plowed into Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday with howling winds, torrential rains and pounding surf, then weakened as it turned its fury on southeastern Georgia, where floodwaters trapped some residents in their homes. Hours after Idalia slammed ashore as a powerful Category 3 hurricane at Keaton Beach in Florida's Big Bend region, packing winds of about 125 mph (201 kph), authorities were still trying to assess the full extent of damage in the hardest-hit areas. Video footage and photographs from the region around Idalia's landfall showed ocean waters washing over highways and neighbourhoods swamped by extensive flooding at midday. Power outages were widespread. Fierce winds ripped down the roof of a gasoline station in Perry, a town of about 7,000 residents roughly 20 miles (32 km) inland and north of where Idalia came ashore, CNN video showed.
At a late afternoon news conference, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said no hurricane fatalities had been confirmed and that it seemed most residents in vulnerable, low-lying areas had heeded evacuation orders and warnings to move to higher ground. But the Florida Highway Patrol reported earlier in the day that two motorists died in separate rain-related crashes on Wednesday morning. DeSantis later said state authorities were investigating one unconfirmed storm-related traffic death. Insured property losses in Florida were projected to run $9.36 billion, investment bank UBS said in a research note based on preliminary estimates. Still, Idalia appeared from early reports to have been far less destructive than Hurricane Ian, a Category 5 storm that struck Florida last September, killing 150 people and causing $112 billion in damage. The governor said that as many as 565,000 utility customers had lost electricity at some point during and after the storm. DeSantis was speaking in Perry, which along with other parts of Taylor County bore some of the storm's worst damage. Electricity was out across the town, businesses were all shuttered and many homes were empty.
Florida Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue told the briefing that state National Guard teams were conducting water rescues from vehicles in Hernando and Taylor counties. Here and there, residents were seen clearing fallen trees and limbs that littered yards and streets, making it difficult to drive through the town. Some homes and other buildings were left in shambles. Thomas Demps, 80, a Taylor County commissioner, let out a long, stunned whistle and several exclamations of "Oh, my!" as he walked around Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Perry on Wednesday afternoon. The church took a beating, Perry said, with missing shingles, portions of outside walls torn away and water standing on the floor. "This is the worst storm I've ever seen here, never seen it this bad," said Demps, a retired industrial mechanic.
