Hurricane Idalia Hits Florida with High Winds, Flooding
2023-08-31
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1Hurricane Idalia made landfall on the west coast of the American state of Florida on Wednesday.
2Officials said the dangerous storm brought life-threatening storm surges and flooding to the area.
3By early Wednesday morning, more than 200,000 people reportedly were without electricity as strong winds brought down trees and power lines.
4Along the coast, some homes were underwater, and structures were crushed in the storm surge.
5"We have multiple trees down, debris in the roads, do not come," emergency officials in Cedar Key said.
6They said most of the streets around the downtown area were underwater.
7Idalia landed in a lightly populated area near Keaton Beach at 11:45 UTC.
8The Category 3 hurricane came with sustained wind speeds as high as 205 kilometers per hour.
9The National Weather Service places hurricanes into five groups depending on wind speed.
10The strongest level, a Category 5 hurricane, can reach sustained wind speeds of 252 kilometers an hour or higher.
11People who live along Florida's northwest coast had been ordered to leave the area before Idalia's arrival.
12On Wednesday morning, Governor Ron DeSantis told those who have not left to stay inside until the storm passes.
13He said, "Don't put your life at risk."
14As the hurricane continues, a rare full moon, called a supermoon, could cause tides to rise higher than normal along Florida's coast.
15When the moon is full, the sun and the moon are pulling in the same direction.
16This has the effect of increasing tides above normal, said Kerry Emanuel.
17He is an atmospheric scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
18The moon's gravitational pull is stronger when it is closer to the Earth,
19so the tides could be higher. Wednesday's supermoon is the closest to the Earth this year.
20Brian Haines is head of the National Weather Service office in Charleston, South Carolina. He said, "I would say the timing is pretty bad for this one."
21The storm surge is often the most dangerous event when a hurricane strikes.
22The National Hurricane Center estimated on Tuesday that ocean water levels could increase by 4.6 meters along parts of Florida's west coast.
23Farther south, a storm surge of up to 2.1 meters is expected in the Tampa Bay area.
24Hurricanes get their energy from warm water. Idalia is feeding from warm water around Florida.
25Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach called the water temperature of 31-32 degrees "rocket fuel for the storm."
26He added, "It's basically all systems go for the storm to intensify."
27The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia "an unprecedented event" since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the area around Big Bend.
28The state of Florida, however, is still dealing with damage from Ian, a Category 5 hurricane, last year.
29Ian was responsible for almost 150 deaths and damaged 52,000 structures.
30The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said the 2023 hurricane season would be far more active because of extremely warm ocean temperatures.
31The season runs through November, with most storms taking place in August and September.
32I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
1Hurricane Idalia made landfall on the west coast of the American state of Florida on Wednesday. Officials said the dangerous storm brought life-threatening storm surges and flooding to the area. 2By early Wednesday morning, more than 200,000 people reportedly were without electricity as strong winds brought down trees and power lines. Along the coast, some homes were underwater, and structures were crushed in the storm surge. 3"We have multiple trees down, debris in the roads, do not come," emergency officials in Cedar Key said. They said most of the streets around the downtown area were underwater. 4Idalia landed in a lightly populated area near Keaton Beach at 11:45 UTC. The Category 3 hurricane came with sustained wind speeds as high as 205 kilometers per hour. The National Weather Service places hurricanes into five groups depending on wind speed. The strongest level, a Category 5 hurricane, can reach sustained wind speeds of 252 kilometers an hour or higher. 5People who live along Florida's northwest coast had been ordered to leave the area before Idalia's arrival. On Wednesday morning, Governor Ron DeSantis told those who have not left to stay inside until the storm passes. He said, "Don't put your life at risk." 6A full moon could raise tides higher 7As the hurricane continues, a rare full moon, called a supermoon, could cause tides to rise higher than normal along Florida's coast. 8When the moon is full, the sun and the moon are pulling in the same direction. This has the effect of increasing tides above normal, said Kerry Emanuel. He is an atmospheric scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 9The moon's gravitational pull is stronger when it is closer to the Earth, so the tides could be higher. Wednesday's supermoon is the closest to the Earth this year. 10Brian Haines is head of the National Weather Service office in Charleston, South Carolina. He said, "I would say the timing is pretty bad for this one." 11The storm surge is often the most dangerous event when a hurricane strikes. The National Hurricane Center estimated on Tuesday that ocean water levels could increase by 4.6 meters along parts of Florida's west coast. Farther south, a storm surge of up to 2.1 meters is expected in the Tampa Bay area. 12Hurricanes get their energy from warm water. Idalia is feeding from warm water around Florida. 13Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach called the water temperature of 31-32 degrees "rocket fuel for the storm." He added, "It's basically all systems go for the storm to intensify." 14The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia "an unprecedented event" since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the area around Big Bend. The state of Florida, however, is still dealing with damage from Ian, a Category 5 hurricane, last year. Ian was responsible for almost 150 deaths and damaged 52,000 structures. 15The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently said the 2023 hurricane season would be far more active because of extremely warm ocean temperatures. The season runs through November, with most storms taking place in August and September. 16I'm Mario Ritter Jr. 17Hai Do adapted this report for VOA Learning English from Associated Press sources. 18____________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20landfall -n. the act of reaching land after a long trip at sea 21storm surge -n. an event in which high winds force water from the sea onto the land 22debris -n. wreckage and broken pieces of things 23sustained -adj. continuing for a period of time 24tide -n. the regular upward and downward movement of sea levels in places caused by the moon and other influences 25unprecedented -adj. describing something that has never happened before