Hurricane Idalia: The strongest storm to strike Florida’s Big Bend in 125 years

A storm-damaged gas station is reflected in a puddle after Hurricane Idalia crossed the state on August 30, 2023 in Perry, Florida.

Residents use kayaks to travel on a flooded road in Tampa, Florida, on August 30, 2023, after Hurricane Idalia made landfall. Idalia barreled into the northwest Florida coast as a powerful Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday morning,

Jewell Baguette, 51, sits on a bathtub amid the wreckage of the home built by her grandfather, where she grew up and three generations of her family lived, and which Hurricane Idalia had reduced to rubble, in Horseshoe Beach, FL.

A woman wades through flood waters after having to evacuate her home due to flooding from Hurricane Idalia on August 30, 2023, in Tarpon Springs. Hundreds of thousands in Florida are without power in Florida.

A storm-damaged McDonald's sign is seen after Hurricane Idalia crossed the state on August 30, 2023 in Perry, Florida.

People ride an ATV through the flooded streets caused by Hurricane Idalia passing offshore on August 30, 2023 in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

A tree toppled by Hurricane Idalia lies on the grounds of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's government mansion in Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. August 30, 2023.

A truck passes through flooded streets caused by Hurricane Idalia passing offshore on August 30, 2023, in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

View of damage in a property after the arrival of Hurricane Idalia, in Mayo, Florida, U.S., August 30, 2023.

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.