August 31st 2023.
Residents of Horseshoe Beach in Florida's Big Bend area were met with piles of rubble where homes once stood when they returned after Hurricane Idalia roared ashore with 125 mph winds Wednesday. Aimee Firestine of Cedar Key, an island located in the remote Big Bend area, said her heart sank when she drove back onto the island hours after the storm passed.
"My plan today is to go around and find anything that's in the debris that is salvageable and clean out my storage shed," said Firestine. She noted that the gas station was gone, trees were toppled, and power lines were on the ground. An entire building belonging to the 12-unit Faraway Inn her family owns had been wiped away, and another lost a wall.
James Nobles, who returned to find his home had survived the storm, said, "The town, I mean, it's devastated. It's probably 50 or 60 homes here, totally destroyed. I'm a lucky one, a few limbs on my house. But we're going to build back. We're going to be strong."
Residents of the tiny town helped each other clear debris or collect belongings, often stopping to hug amidst tears. Florida officials said there was one hurricane-related death in the Gainesville area, and the state's highway patrol reported two people were killed in separate weather-related crashes just hours before Idalia made landfall. A man in Valdosta, Georgia, died when a tree fell on him as he tried to clear another tree out of the road.
As many as a half-million customers were without power at one point in Florida and Georgia as the storm ripped down utility poles. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said, "We're fortunate this storm was a narrow one, and it was fast moving and didn't sit on us. But if you were in the path, it was devastating. And we're responding that way."
Chris Exum, a farmer in the south Georgia town of Quitman, estimates he lost half or more of his pecan crop from Idalia. He noted that some of the trees were 40 to 50 years old and it would take a long time to get back to that point.
Rescue and repair efforts were in full force Thursday in Florida's Big Bend area. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis toured the area with his wife, Casey, and federal emergency officials. Desmond Roberson of Valdosta was shocked when he took a drive through the city with a friend to check out the damage. He said on one street, a tree had fallen on nearly every house. Roads remained blocked by tree trunks and downed powerlines and traffic lights were still blacked out at major intersections.
Despite the destruction, the spirit of the people was strong. Florida and Georgia residents were determined to rebuild and recover from the devastation of Hurricane Idalia.
Residents of Horseshoe Beach, a tiny town of just 50-60 homes, faced the heartbreaking task of picking through piles of rubble where homes once stood on Thursday.
Aimee Firestine of Cedar Key, an island located in the remote Big Bend area, described the sight of her beloved island after the hurricane. “When I drove back onto the island hours after the storm passed, my heart sank. The gas station was gone. Trees were toppled. Power lines were on the ground. An entire building belonging to the 12-unit Faraway Inn my family owns had been wiped away. Another building lost a wall,” she said.
James Nobles, a resident of Horseshoe Beach, was lucky to find his home had survived the storm, though many of his neighbors weren’t so fortunate. “It’s probably 50 or 60 homes here, totally destroyed. I’m a lucky one, a few limbs on my house. But we’re going to build back. We’re going to be strong,” he said.
The destruction was widespread, with Florida officials reporting one hurricane-related death in the Gainesville area and the state’s highway patrol reporting two people were killed in separate weather-related crashes just hours before Idalia made landfall. In Valdosta, Georgia, a man died when a tree fell on him as he tried to clear another tree out of the road.
The storm had 90 mph winds when it made a direct hit on Valdosta, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp told a press conference in Atlanta Thursday. "We’re fortunate this storm was a narrow one, and it was fast moving and didn’t sit on us. But if you were in the path, it was devastating. And we’re responding that way," he said.
Chris Exum, a farmer in the south Georgia town of Quitman, estimated he lost half or more of his pecan crop from Idalia. Some of the trees were 40 to 50 years old, he noted. “It takes a long time to get back to that point.”
Desmond Roberson of Valdosta described the damage as “devastating.” On one street, he said, a tree had fallen on nearly every house, and roads remained blocked by tree trunks and downed power lines.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis toured the area with his wife and federal emergency officials, seeing first-hand the destruction caused by Hurricane Idalia. Rescue and repair efforts were in full force Thursday, as the storm had shredded homes, ripped off roofs, snapped tall trees, and turned streets into rivers.
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