A storm-damaged gasoline station is mirrored in a puddle in Perry, Fla., after Hurricane Idalia crossed the state on Wednesday.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images

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Sean Rayford/Getty Images

A storm-damaged gasoline station is mirrored in a puddle in Perry, Fla., after Hurricane Idalia crossed the state on Wednesday.

Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Across the Southeast, tons of of hundreds are with out energy, roads are plagued by storm particles and fears over the opportunity of extreme flooding stay as Idalia, now a tropical storm, continues to batter the area.

The storm made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday morning, submerging neighborhoods and leaving a path of particles because it thrashed its manner east throughout Georgia.

What’s the newest with right this moment’s forecast?

Heavy rainfall, flash flooding and coastal storm surge is predicted to proceed to influence South Carolina all through the day, in accordance with a 5 a.m. ET advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Forecasters described the chance of storm surge as probably “life-threatening.”

A supermoon that peaked Wednesday night time is predicted to exacerbate the vary of coastal tides, bringing an added layer of hazard. Residents of the Carolinas have additionally been warned of the chance for tornadoes.

The storm’s energy is predicted to stay constant all through the day. Maximum sustained wind speeds of close to 60 mph prolong outward from the middle of the storm for as much as 185 miles, the NHC mentioned.

By late Thursday, the storm is forecast to maneuver offshore and into the Atlantic, leaving the Southeastern states to handle the destruction in its wake.

What form of injury has Idalia prompted to date?

The storm made landfall close to Keaton Beach, Fla. at about 7:45 a.m. as a Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph winds — tied as the strongest to hit the Big Bend region of the state.

Idalia remained a hurricane because it tore into Georgia with winds at 90 mph, then slowed to a tropical storm because it crossed into South Carolina.

Across the area, heavy rains and gusty winds left tons of of companies and full neighborhoods submerged in water.

Despite obligatory evacuation orders, boat groups in Florida rescued greater than 75 folks in St. Petersburg and one other 60 folks from Hudson from a number of ft of storm surge. A gauge alongside Big Bend’s Steinhatchee River measured a rise from from 1 foot to 8 feet in simply an hour, sufficient to reverse the movement of the river; sailboats, loosed from their moorings, had been seen crashing towards a site visitors bridge.

In South Carolina, the National Weather Service reported “major coastal inundation,” together with in downtown Charleston the place water had damaged by means of the historic seawall, the Charleston battery.

More than 290,000 houses and companies had been still without power across Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas as of Thursday morning, in accordance with the monitoring web site PowerOutage.us, and damaged site visitors indicators all through the area are including one other layer of hazard to journey circumstances.

Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis mentioned over 30,000 linemen had been at work attempting to revive energy in his state alone, however the work may take a while.

What’s taking place with search and rescue efforts?

Despite the injury, solely a handful of deaths have been linked to the hurricane, a large distinction to Hurricane Ian, which claimed 149 lives when it pounded Florida final 12 months.

At least one particular person was killed in Georgia, in accordance with The Associated Press. Meanwhile, Florida Highway Patrol officers mentioned two males had been killed in separate rain-related crashes hours earlier than Idalia struck the state.

Gov. DeSantis mentioned Florida officers had been vetting “one unconfirmed fatality” as a attainable storm-related dying, however he did not say whether or not it was one of many two Florida deaths reported earlier within the day.

The path of the storm could have helped spare the state some injury. Idalia averted closely populated areas because it made landfall within the Big Bend area, a sprawling agricultural area the place Florida’s panhandle merges with the peninsula.

It seems that most individuals in impacted areas did heed warnings to evacuate, Gov. DeSantis mentioned at a press briefing on Wednesday. He mentioned search and rescue groups had visited “about 70%” of the areas they wanted to test.

As of Wednesday night, there have been no excellent lacking particular person stories, mentioned Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

This reporting initially appeared in NPR’s digital live coverage. NPR’s Bobby Allyn, Vanessa Romo, Ayana Archie, Russell Lewis and Rachel Treisman contributed reporting.