At least 2 killed in Florida as Hurricane Idalia crosses into Georgia

Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday in Florida as a Category 3 storm and unleashed devastation along a wide stretch of the Gulf Coast, submerging homes and vehicles, turning streets into rivers, unmooring small boats and downing power lines in an area that has never before received such a storm.

Two people were killed in weather-related car crashes along Florida's Gulf Coast, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

In one incident in Pasco County, a 40-year-old male driver died after losing control of a Ford Ranger and colliding with a tree. In Alachua County, a 59-year-old male driving a Toyota Tacoma crashed into trees in "extremely rainy conditions" and was killed, the highway patrol said.

More than 330,000 customers were without electricity as rushing water covered streets near the coast. As the eye moved inland, destructive winds shredded signs, sent sheet metal flying and snapped tall trees. Downed power lines closed northbound Interstate 75 just south of Valdosta, Ga.

"We have multiple trees down, debris in the roads, do not come," posted the fire and rescue department in Cedar Key, Fla., where a tide gauge measured the storm surge at 2 metres, submerging most of the downtown. "We have propane tanks blowing up all over the island."

Idalia came ashore in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula. It was about 30 kilometres south of Perry, Fla., just before 8 a.m., packing maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometres per hour, the Miami-National Hurricane Center said.

It remained a hurricane as it crossed into Georgia, with top winds of 150 kilometres per hour at 11 a.m. ET.

Forecasters said it would punish the Carolinas overnight as a tropical storm. Some models predicted Idalia could circle southward toward land again after that, but the National Hurricane Center forecast it to move deeper into the Atlantic this weekend.

In Florida's state capital, the power went out well before the centre of the storm arrived. Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey urged everyone to shelter in place — it was too late to risk going outside. Florida residents living in vulnerable coastal areas had been ordered to pack up and leave as Idalia gained strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

"Don't put your life at risk by doing anything dumb at this point," Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Wednesday morning. "This thing's powerful. If you're inside, just hunker down until it gets past you."

Storm surge could rise as high as 4.5 metres in some places, and there was also a tornado risk in several counties, DeSantis said.

Not everyone heeded the warning to leave in mandatory evacuation zones. Andy Bair, owner of the Island Hotel on Cedar Key, said he intended to "babysit" his bed-and-breakfast, which predates the Civil War. The building has not flooded in the almost 20 years he has owned it, not even when Hurricane Hermine flooded the city in 2016.

"Being a caretaker of the oldest building in Cedar Key, I just feel kind of like I need to be here," Bair said. "We've proven time and again that we're not going to wash away. We may be a little uncomfortable for a couple of days, but we'll be OK eventually."

Idalia fed off some of the hottest water on the planet and for a time overnight was a Category 4 hurricane due to its wind speed.