Visceral images showing the storm surge from Hurricane Idalia emerged Wednesday out of Cedar Key, a small clump of islands that make up a city of roughly 800 full-time residents and a National Wildlife Refuge along the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Short video clips posted to X captured inundated streets, torrents crashing upon the walls of structures, pieces of debris floating around, and buildings flooded with water in the area.
HEARTBREAKING 💔 We're getting a first look at Hurricane Idalia's devastating storm surge in Cedar Key. https://t.co/F31HqkPjy8 pic.twitter.com/DS3pWRXyBi
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) August 30, 2023
The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore, who is well known for broadcasting live from stormy disasters, picked Cedar Key as his base of operations while covering Hurricane Idalia. He and his producer shared videos showing more than 6 feet of storm surge and its effects.
Live w/ @JimCantore in Cedar Key, FL on @weatherchannel where the storm surge is at 6+ ft and rising from #HurricaneIdalia pic.twitter.com/zE7aS30E4T
— Steve Petyerak (@StevePetyerak) August 30, 2023
“Surrounded by water as expected,” Cantore said in one post.
A RECORD 6.9 foot storm surge in Cedar Key, FL. Surrounded by water as expected. #UOF #idalia pic.twitter.com/o1ugmxyA0R
— Jim Cantore (@JimCantore) August 30, 2023
A mandatory evacuation order instructed Cedar Key residents to leave the city by Tuesday, but not everyone heeded the warning.
Asked during a press conference about an estimated 100 people who refused to flee, Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis noted there was a “hazardous situation” with the storm surge.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says it’s a “hazardous situation” in Cedar Key, where some people have stayed even as the storm surge from #HurricaneIdalia is expected to rise up to 16 feet
“There will be rescue efforts done if need be,” DeSantis says https://t.co/dk4JEHsGM2 pic.twitter.com/zS34BU4PdB
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 30, 2023
“There will be rescue efforts done if need be,” he said. “And hopefully it’s not necessary. Hopefully they knew what they were doing and they have a spot.”
As Idalia approached Florida, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned that some areas in and around the Big Bend region along the coast might face double-digit storm surge when measured in feet.
This is what more than six feet of #Idalia's storm surge looks like in Cedar Key, Florida, where @JimCantore is LIVE: pic.twitter.com/rL0RI31Bj6
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) August 30, 2023
NHC Deputy Director Jamie Rhome said he was “especially concerned” for anyone who remained in Cedar Key as it was “right smack in the middle of that area,” noting “the entire island could be cut off with conditions like that.”
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Idalia made landfall as a major Category 3 hurricane around 7:45 a.m. near Keaton Beach, Florida, which is located about an 89-mile drive north of Cedar Key.
Per @NHC_Atlantic Hurricane #Idalia has made landfall as a Category 3 Major Hurricane with max sustained winds of 125mph near Keaton Beach, Florida at 7:45 am EDT. #FLwx pic.twitter.com/BoMcnvb7W8
— NWS Tallahassee (@NWSTallahassee) August 30, 2023
Michael Bobbit, a Cedar Key resident, called in to speak with ABC News about what Idalia did to his city.
Cedar Key, FL, resident tells @dianermacedo that "it looks like our entire downtown commercial district is underwater" due to Hurricane Idalia flooding. pic.twitter.com/paCF2AW5sc
— ABC News Live (@ABCNewsLive) August 30, 2023
“It looks like our entire downtown commercial district is underwater,” Bobbit said. “We have no commercial buildings that aren’t almost entirely inundated. And it means — I’d say 50% of the houses on the island have water in them.”
Bobbit, who mentioned that he was walking through waist-deep water while surveying the damage, also said, “So far I don’t think we’ve had any loss of life or any significant injury.”