An aerial view of the commercial area around Cedar Key Fishing Pier ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Idalia, in Cedar Key, Florida, US. (Image: Reuters)
Hurricane Idalia Updates: Hurricane Idalia will most likely be a life-threatening event and a supermoon could strengthen the storms.
Hurricane Idalia will most likely make landfall in Florida early Wednesday morning (local time) and residents as well as nearby states are bracing for impact. The American National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects Hurricane Idalia will reach Category III “major” hurricane before making landfall on the Gulf coast of Florida.
Here are five things to know about Hurricane Idalia:
- Florida governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency last week itself and 49 of the 67 counties in the state remain under states of emergency. He has appeared before the media to give constant updates and has kept people informed. Along with Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia have also declared state of emergency.
- The US Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell warned that Hurricane Idalia will be a “life threatening” event. Criswell spoke to Florida senator Rick Scott and asked him to share information about areas of concern so that FEMA can set up response and recovery operations. The federal body activated the National Response Coordination Center and deployed 640 personnel, of which nine are Urban Search and Rescue teams and three are Disaster Survivor Assistance Strike teams. “Those living in Hurricane Idalia’s path should rush to complete preparedness actions, as this storm is expected to intensify rapidly into a dangerous major hurricane before landfall Tuesday night. There is a danger of life-threatening storm surge along portions of the Florida Gulf Coast, from Tampa Bay to the Big Bend region,” FEMA said.
- The supermoon on Wednesday will lead to more extreme high tides and low tides as the moon is closest to Earth. “The combination of a dangerous storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline,” the NHC warned. It said that water levels could reach up to 15 feet above ground if the peak surge comes at high tide.
- US President Joe Biden spoke to his possible challenger Ron DeSantis and assured him of all help as Idalia prepares to strike. “We’re providing everything he could possibly need. We’re in constant contact,” Biden said. “I mean, you know there’s time and a place to have a political season. But then there’s a time and a place to say that this is something that’s life threatening,” DeSantis said when questioned if he had communication issues with the person whom he would be challenging for the post of President of the US. Biden approved an emergency declaration in Florida ahead of the storm and pre-approved disaster relief and ordered federal assistance so that local, tribal and state authorities can respond adequately.
- Mass evacuation of citizens have begun and DeSantis has urged residents to listen to requests made by him and authorities. The areas from where a large number of residents have been evacuated are from coastal regions. DeSantis said that people do not have to flee to other states and can simply go tens of kilometres inland to protect themselves from the hurricane.
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