Florida Braces for Another One as Idalia Strengthens in Gulf

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Insureds and insurers across much of Florida began bracing for the impact of another major hurricane as Tropical Storm Idalia was expected to strengthen and make landfall by Wednesday afternoon.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for most of the state`s Gulf Coast, from the southwestern city of Fort Myers – swamped by Hurricane Ian less than a year ago – north through Panama City in the Panhandle. Storm surge is expected: Officials in Pinellas County, home to Clearwater and St. Petersburg, and in Hillsborough, home to Tampa, ordered a mandatory evacuation for evacuation Zone A, low-lying areas, and for all mobile home residents, according to news reports Monday. That affects an estimated 400,000 people.

Thirty-three of the state`s 67 counties are covered in the governor’s declaration. Forecast models so far do not show the storm’s center approaching the areas of southwest Florida where Ian struck last year, but watchers are wary after Ian strengthened quickly and took an unexpected turn at the last minute.

Officials said a storm of this nature can cause massive flooding, power outages, coastal storm surge and tornadoes, far from the eyewall of the system.

DeSantis said in a statement that he issued his executive order “out of an abundance of caution to ensure that the Florida Division of Emergency Management can begin staging resources and Floridians have plenty of time to prepare their families for a storm next week.”

“I encourage Floridians to have a plan in place and ensure that their hurricane supply kit is stocked,`’ he said.

Forecast models have the storm curving to the northeast toward Florida, coming ashore along the Gulf coast north of Tampa near the Big Bend area and then heading diagonally across the state to emerge again in the Atlantic Ocean near southeast Georgia.

So far this year, the U.S. East Coast has been spared from cyclones. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said the 2023 hurricane season would be far busier than initially forecast, partly because of extremely warm ocean temperatures.

The season runs through Nov. 30, with August and September typically the peak.

Evacuations in the Tampa area have already been complicated by widespread fuel contamination. The Tampa Bay Times and other news outlets reported that gas from more than two dozen Citgo stations could contain some amount of diesel fuel, due to human error. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services issued an alert Sunday afternoon with a list of the gas stations affected.

Top map: Predicted rainfall amounts from Idalia. (NOAA)