PERRY, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Idalia tore into Florida at the speed of a fast-moving train Wednesday, splitting trees in half, ripping roofs off hotels and turning small cars into boats before sweeping into Georgia and South Carolina as a still-powerful storm that flooded roadways and sent residents running for higher ground.
A storm-damaged gas station is reflected in a puddle after Hurricane Idalia crossed the state on August 30, 2023 in Perry, Florida. The storm made landfall at Keaton Beach, Florida as a category 3 hurricane. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
Pick up trucks and debris lie strewn in a canal in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., after the passage of Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
Jewell Baggett stands beside a Christmas decoration she recovered from the wreckage of her mother’s home, as she searches for anything salvageable from the trailer home her grandfather had acquired in 1973 and built multiple additions on to over the decades, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., after the passage of Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
Main Street in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. was flooded on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 after the passage of Hurricane Idalia. (Jason Lee/The Sun News via AP) 
In this photo made in a flight provided by mediccorps.org, the remains of a destroyed home built atop a platform on piles are seen in Keaton Beach, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
The remains of a destroyed building are seen in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., after the passage of Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
A car plunged into flood waters on Ocean Boulevard in North Myrtle Beach on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 after the passage of Hurricane Idalia. (Jason Lee/The Sun News via AP) 
This combination of satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows a portion of the Big Bend area, in Fla., on Jan. 12, 2023, and the same area, right, Aug. 30, 2023, after Tropical Storm Idalia caused flooding to the area. 
A storm-damaged McDonald’s sign is seen after Hurricane Idalia crossed the state on August 30, 2023 in Perry, Florida. The storm made landfall at Keaton Beach, Florida as a category 3 hurricane. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
A storm-damaged gas station is seen after Hurricane Idalia crossed the state on August 30, 2023 in Perry, Florida. The storm made landfall at Keaton Beach, Florida as a category 3 hurricane. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
Kayakers paddle along in flood waters after Hurricane Idalia passed offshore on August 30, 2023 in Crystal River, Florida. Hurricane Idalia hit the Big Bend area on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 3 storm. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) 
A pickup truck with an American flag tied to sits halfway into a canal in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., after the passage of Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
This aerial photo shows homes surrounded by floodwaters in Steinhatchee, Fla., Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, left behind by Hurricane Idalia. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin) 
People walk through flood waters on SR44 Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in Crystal River, Fla. Hurricane Idalia made landfall earlier this morning along the Big Bend of the state. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara) 
A Levy County road worker parks at a destroyed Marathon gas station on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, in Cedar Key, Fla., after Hurricane Idalia passed through. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP) 
Joe Morgan, 53, clears a pine tree that had fallen on power lines in front of his home, following the passage of Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 in Perry, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) 
Damage to Faraway Inn is seen Wednesday, Aug 30, 2023, in Cedar Key Fla., in the wake of Hurricane Idalia. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP) 
A lineman works to restore service after Hurricane Idalia crossed the state on August 30, 2023 in Perry, Florida. The storm made landfall at Keaton Beach, Florida as a category 3 hurricane. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
A vehicle that crashed after hitting a fallen tree sits in a gully after Hurricane Idalia crossed the state on August 30, 2023 in Perry, Florida. The storm made landfall at Keaton Beach, Florida as a category 3 hurricane. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
People work to clear I-10 of fallen trees after Hurricane Idalia crossed the state on August 30, 2023 near Madison, Florida. The storm made landfall at Keaton Beach, Florida as category 3 hurricane. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images) 
Eliah Corcoran sits on a bench in flood waters after Hurricane Idalia passed offshore on August 30, 2023 in Crystal River, Florida. Hurricane Idalia hit the Big Bend area on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 3 storm. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) 
David Lemon walks with his bike past his flooded apartment after Hurricane Idalia passed offshore on August 30, 2023 in Crystal River, Florida. Hurricane Idalia hit the Big Bend area on the Gulf Coast of Florida as a Category 3 storm. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
“All hell broke loose,” said Belond Thomas of Perry, a mill town located just inland from the Big Bend region where Idalia came ashore.
Thomas fled with her family and some friends to a motel, thinking it would be safer than riding out the storm at home. But as Idalia’s eye passed over about 8:30 a.m., a loud whistling noise pierced the air and the high winds ripped the building’s roof off, sending debris down on her pregnant daughter, who was lying in bed. Fortunately, she was not injured.
“It was frightening,” Thomas said. “Things were just going so fast. … Everything was spinning.”
After coming ashore, Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach at 7:45 a.m. as a high-end Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph (205 kph). The system remained a hurricane as it crossed into Georgia with top winds of 90 mph (150 kph). It weakened to a tropical storm by late Wednesday afternoon, and its winds had dropped to 60 mph (96 kph) by Wednesday night.
As the eye moved inland, high winds shredded signs, blew off roofs, sent sheet metal flying and snapped tall trees. One person was killed in Georgia. No hurricane-related deaths were officially confirmed in Florida, but the Florida Highway Patrol reported two people dying in separate weather-related crashes just hours before Idalia made landfall.
The storm brought strong winds to Savannah, Georgia, Wednesday evening as it made its way toward the Carolinas. It was forecast to move near or along the coast of South Carolina through Wednesday night and then just off the coast of North Carolina on Thursday before heading out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Idalia spawned a tornado that briefly touched down in the Charleston, South Carolina, suburb of Goose Creek, the National Weather Service said. The winds sent a car flying and flipped it over, according to authorities and eyewitness video. Two people received minor injuries.
Along South Carolina’s coast, North Myrtle Beach, Garden City, and Edisto Island all reported ocean water flowing over sand dunes and spilling onto beachfront streets Wednesday evening. In Charleston, storm surge from Idalia topped the seawall that protects the downtown, sending ankle-deep ocean water into the streets and neighborhoods where horse-drawn carriages pass million-dollar homes and the famous open-air market.
Preliminary data showed the Wednesday evening high tide reached just over 9.2 feet (2.8 meters), more than 3 feet (0.9 meters) above normal and the fifth-highest reading in Charleston Harbor since records were first kept in 1899.
