Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in US with 125mph winds and 16ft storm surge
Hurricane Idalia seen from space
Reuters
A massive hurricane is bearing down on the north west coast of Florida, with authorities warning residents who have not evacuated to “hunker down”.
Hurricane Idalia made landfall at Keaton Beach on Florida’s Gulf coast, with winds of 125mph, the US National Hurricane Centre has confirmed.
As it continues on its path toward Florida's Big Bend, the storm has also begun to speed up and is now moving at 18mph, adding to the sustained winds as it makes landfall.
The Hurricane Centre warned that Idalia is continuing to strengthen in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Hurricane Idalia seen from space
Reuters
The Hurricane Centre warned that Idalia is continuing to strengthen in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
According to the National Hurricane Centre’s scale, a category 4 hurricane means “catastrophic damage will occur”
The Hurricane has rapidly intensified over the past couple of days, from a tropical storm, before impacting Cuba.
Florida Governor Ron Desantis warned Floridians to evacuate overnight for what he said was likely to be the worst storm to hit the area since the 1800s.
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However, with the hurricane almost upon them, local residents are now being warned to shelter in place and hunker down.
Although the winds will cause very significant damage, the predicted storm surge of up to 16 feet is likely to cause a major threat to life.
The storm comes just after the anniversaries of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Ida two years ago.
Katrina led to the deaths of more than 1,300 people, many in Louisiana, when the storm surge overwhelmed the levees in New Orleans and caused devastating flood damage.
The hurricane centre said that although Idalia should weaken after landfall, it will likely remain at hurricane force while moving across Georgia and South Carolina.
“Category four, that's going to bring severe winds and driving rain,” NBC correspondent Jay Gray told Sky News.
“Several of the coastal areas, as well as the low-lying areas, have been evacuated at this point.
“They're expecting a wall of water as this storm makes landfall - 12 to 16ft of a storm surge pushing into those areas along the coastline.”
Shortly after landfall Hurricane Idalia maximum sustained winds of 110 mph with higher gusts, making it a Category 2 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Centre.
An automated weather station at Perry Airport recently reported a sustained wind of 62 mph with a gust of 85 mph within the past hour.
The NAC said: “Catastrophic storm surge is occurring along the coast of the Florida Big Bend and damaging winds are spreading inland over northern Florida.”