Hurricane Idalia updates: Biden promises to ‘take care of Florida’ on visit after DeSantis snub

President Biden assesses scale of impacts from Hurricane Idalia from the sky before conducting a walking tour of communities

Flood waters from Hurricane Idalia inundate Steinhatchee, Florida

Joe Biden told Florida residents “your nation has your back” on Saturday as he toured areas of the state damaged by Hurricane Idalia.

The president assessed the scale of the storm’s impact from the air, before meeting members of the public on a walking tour.

But while Mr Biden was joined by one of the state’s Republican senators – Rick Scott – his trip was snubbed by governor Ron DeSantis, a possible rival in the next presidential election.

“As I’ve told your governor, if there’s anything your state needs, I’m ready to mobilize that support,” Mr Biden said.

Idalia ploughed into Florida as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday morning before losing power as it moved inland through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

At around 5pm on Saturday afternoon the National Hurricane Center issued what it said was its final advisory on Idalia, noting that the post-tropical cyclone had moved away off Bermuda and that the storm warning for the island was discontinued.

Potentially dangerous surf and rip currents from Idalia will continue to hit the US east coast throughout the Labor Day weekend, it warned.

Key points

• Biden heading to Florida to see aftermath and recovery efforts
• Hurricane Idalia could be US’s costliest climate disaster this year
• Biden wants an extra $4bn for disaster relief, bringing total request to $16bn
• Life-threatening flash flooding continues to hit North Carolina
• WATCH: Terrifying moment tornado flips car with two inside
• Tree falls on DeSantis mansion with his family inside as Hurricane Idalia rocks Florida

[3 September 2023 08:00 · Graig Graziosi]

Before and after Hurricane Idalia made landfall captured by satellites

Satellite images have captured the life-threatening flooding in Florida after Hurricane Idalia battered the peninsula this week.

Idalia made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 3 storm early Wednesday morning with wind speeds topping 125 mph.

[3 September 2023 09:00 · Graig Graziosi]

Terrifying moment car carrying two people is flipped into air by Hurricane Idalia

A car carrying two people was flipped into the air by a tornado in South Carolina, as Hurricane Idalia tore through the state.

The black sedan was travelling through severe rainfall near Goose Creek, north of Charleston, on Wednesday afternoon when severe gusts of wind threw it up in the air at an intersection.

Footage shows the car being flipped upwards by the strong winds, causing it to spin on its rear wheels before flipping upside down and landing on the roof of another oncoming car.

The Goose Creek Police Department said that the two people inside the car suffered minor injuries and were taken for treatment at a local hospital.

Officials from Berkely County Emergency Management later confirmed that it was a brief tornado during Storm Idalia that had flipped the vehicle.

[3 September 2023 10:00 · Graig Graziosi]

Despite opposing it after Sandy, DeSantis says Florida will apply for federal disaster relief money

Florida Gov Ron DeSantis said that his state will apply for federal dollars to help recover after Hurricane Idalia — despite the fact he voted against providing disaster relief when he was in Congress.

Eric Garcia reports.

[3 September 2023 11:00 · Graig Graziosi]

President and First Lady observe Idalia wreckage from helicopter

Joe Biden visited Florida Saturday to survey the extent of the damage caused by Hurrican Idalia when it made landfall on Wednesday morning near Big Bend.

Mr Biden was accompanied by First Lady Jill Biden.

The couple tookan aerial tour of the region to get a wider view of the impact the storm had on Florida’s coast before meeting with GOP Senator Rick Scott and residents to discuss the recovery.

Debris is littered around the damaged Regency Inn Perry in Perry, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

[3 September 2023 12:00 · Graig Graziosi]

Biden says ‘we’re going to save Florida’ when asked if he had a statement for Ron DeSantis

Joe Biden said “we’re going to save Florida” when asked if he had a statement for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Mr DeSantis said he did not plan to meet with the president during his trip to Florida to survey the wreckage of Hurricane Idalia. The governor said the logistics of securing the area for the visit would slow recovery efforts.

[3 September 2023 13:00 · Graig Graziosi]

A phenomenon in Hurricane Idalia’s eye prevented ‘devastating impacts’ in Florida’s capital

In the final hours before Hurricane Idalia struck Florida the storm had grown into a Category 4 beast lurking off the state’s west coast, and the forecast called for it to continue intensifying up until landfall.

An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft had recorded winds up to 130 mph (215 kph), the National Hurricane Center said in an ominous bulletin at 6 a.m. Wednesday.

As the sun rose an hour later, however, there was evidence the hurricane began replacing the wall around its eye — a phenomenon that experts say kept it from further intensifying. Maximum winds had dropped to near 125 mph (205 kph), the Hurricane Center said in a 7 a.m. update.

Then came another surprising twist: A last-minute turn sparing the state’s capital city of Tallahassee from far more serious damage.

“Eyewall replacement cycles are common in major hurricanes, and so when you see that, it does lead to some temporary weakening,” said Kelly Godsey, one of the meteorologists tracking the storm at the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, where his colleagues slept inside the weather office so they could be at work in case the city was devastated.

[3 September 2023 14:00 · Graig Graziosi]

ICYMI: Florida residents thank Joe Biden for federal assistance

A resident in Florida thanked Joe Biden for the federal government’s assistance in the recovery efforts following Hurricane Idalia.

“We are really an economically challenged area and the help that has come in is just— I can’t say thank you enough,” the resident says in the video.

A Fox News feed carrying the shot died out shortly after the resident made the comments.

[3 September 2023 15:00 · Graig Graziosi]

Joe Biden says no one ‘intelligent’ can deny climate crisis

Joe Biden said that “no one intelligent” can question the severity of the climate crisis during a visit to Florida to survey the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia.

“Nobody can deny the impact of climate crises—at least nobody intelligent can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore,” he said during the visit.

Mr Biden and First Lady Jill Biden toured the state’s west coast, where Hurricane Idalia made landfall on Wednesday morning.

U.S. President Joe Biden visits Suwannee Pineview Elementary School, during his tour of Hurricane Idalia storm destruction in Live Oak, Florida, U.S., September 2, 202 (REUTERS)