Florida's Gulf Coast braces for major hurricane as Idalia nears landfall
A surfer rides the swells ahead of Hurricane Idalia in Clearwater Beach, Florida, US on Monday.
Florida's Gulf Coast braced on Wednesday for fierce winds, torrential rain and surging seawater from Idalia, forecast to become "an extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane, as it swirled toward a direct hit on the state's Big Bend region.
Idalia's fury steadily intensified on Tuesday, drawing energy from the warm, open waters of the Gulf of Mexico, while millions of people in the storm's path tied down boats, boarded up windows, sandbagged their properties and headed for higher ground.
Mandatory evacuation orders had been issued in at least 28 of Florida's 67 counties as of Tuesday night.
"If you have not evacuated, you need to do that right now," Florida emergency management chief Kevin Guthrie said during an evening news briefing. "You need to drop what you're doing. You need to go to your room, pack up, pack your things and get to safety."
Most of Florida's 21 million residents, and many in the adjacent states of Georgia and South Carolina, were under hurricane warnings and other storm-related advisories. State emergency declarations were issued in all three.
