Hurricane Idalia's financial toll could reach $20 billion

As states pummeled by Hurricane Idalia work to clean up, the storm is expected to cause between $12 billion and $20 billion in damage and lost economic activity, according to a new estimate. 

The hurricane, which killed two people as it battered Florida's Gulf Coast after making landfall on Wednesday, also flooded streets, damaged homes, and downed trees and power lines. 

Most of the losses stem from damage to property, with coastal counties in the state's Big Bend region taking the brunt of the storm's powerful winds, heavy rain and storm surge, Moody's Analytics analyst Adam Kamins said in a report. Flooding was especially severe in Tampa as well as in Charleston, South Carolina, as Idalia swept north.