'All Hell Broke Loose': Flights Cancelled, Trees Snapped, Many Left Without Power As Hurricane Idalia Hits Florida

Idalia, which made landfall near Keaton Beach as a high-end Category 3 hurricane with maximum winds near 205 kph, ripped roofs, caused threats to life, and split trees in half.

Hurricane Idalia hit the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday and flooded several parts of the US state.

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Hurricane Idalia hit the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday and flooded several parts of the US state. Idalia, which made landfall near Keaton Beach at 7:45 AM as a high-end Category 3 hurricane with maximum winds near 205 kph, ripped roofs, caused threats to life, and split trees in half, as reported by the news agency AP.

As Idalia came ashore, Belond Thomas of Perry said, "All hell broke loose," as quoted by the AP. Perry is a mill town located just inland from the Big Bend region. According to the AP, Thomas fled from her home with her family and friends to a motel, thinking it would be safer than riding out the storm at home.

Over 850 flights were cancelled by US airlines after Hurricane Idalia made landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast. More than 230,000 customers were left without electricity as trees snapped due to strong winds that brought down power lines, as reported by the AP. Idalia came ashore in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula.

Florida residents living in vulnerable coastal areas were asked to leave as Idalia gained strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. In Florida's capital city, Tallahassee, the power went out well before the centre of the storm arrived. Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey asked the people to take shelter in place, as it was too risky to go outside.

Idalia remained strong as it crossed into Georgia with top winds of 90 mph (150 kph). It began to weaken to a tropical storm by Wednesday afternoon and the winds dropped to 60 mph (96 kph) by Wednesday night, as per the AP.

Worse Than We’ve Ever Seen, Says Mayor Of Florida's Cedar Key 

On the island city of Cedar Key, on the southern side of the Big Bend, Mayor Heath Davis had asked residents under a mandatory evacuation order to leave immediately, as reported by CNN. "This storm is worse than we’ve ever seen. My family has been here for many generations; we haven’t seen a storm this bad, ever," he said Tuesday.

Scott Martin, a resident of Florida, shared a video on Facebook showing roads in Fort Myers Beach already flooded and the “storm hasn’t even hit,” he wrote, as per CNN.

Earlier, in view of the intensity of the storm, various schools, 18 state colleges, and six universities across Florida cancelled classes, including major institutions like the University of Florida in Gainesville and Florida State University in Tallahassee, Al Jazeera reported.