15-foot storm surge nagbabanta sa Florida bunsod ng Hurricane Idalia
Steve Leitgeb, Michelle Fedeles, and Brandon Hadley place protective shutters over the openings at Coco’s Crush Bar & Grill before the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Indian Rocks Beach, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Lumakas ang Hurricane Idalia habang patungo sa kanlurang baybayin ng Florida, na nagbunsod ng mass evacuation orders at flood alerts habang nagbabala naman ang mga awtoridad tungkol sa ‘ocean surge’ at ‘catastrophic destruction’ sa sandaling manalasa na bagyo ngayong Miyerkoles.
Sinabi ng US National Hurricane Center (NHC) na si Idalia, na una nang nanalasa sa kanluran ng Cuba, ay lumakas sa Category 2 storm na may hanging 100 milya (161 kilometro) bawat oras, at binabayo na ang outer islands ng Florida Keys.
Ayon sa NHC, “Warm waters in the Gulf of Mexico are expected to further turbocharge Idalia into an ‘extremely dangerous major hurricane’ before landfall on Wednesday.”
Ibinabala rin nito ang storm surge na 10 – 15 talampakan o 3-5 metro sa mga coastal area.
Sinabi ni Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) chief Deanne Criswell, “Very few people can survive being in the path of a major storm surge, and this storm will be deadly if we don’t get out of harm’s way and take it seriously. Major hurricanes are Category 3 or higher on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds above 110 miles per hour that the NHC says could cause ‘devastating’ damage.”
A grocery store’s water section is almost bare as people stock up ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Pinellas Park, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida Wednesday morning. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Partikular namang pinagtutuunan ng pansin ayon sa mga awtoridad, ay ang kalapit na siyudad ng Tampa, bahagi ng isang metropolitan area na tahanan ng mahigit sa tatlong milyong katao.
Sinabi ni Matthew Payne ng Office of Response and Recovery ng FEMA, “There’s a danger of life threatening storm surge along portions of the Florida Gulf Coast from Tampa Bay to the Big Bend region.”
Kaugnay nito ay hinimok ni Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ang mga nasa ilalim ng evacuation orders sa kahabaan ng Gulf coast na lumikas na ngayon.
Aniya, “You don’t have to go hundreds of miles,” at hinimok ang mga residente na 23 counties na nasa ilalim ng evacuation orders na maghanap na ng mapagkakanlungan o mga hotel na malayo sa danger zones.
Ang Hurricane Idalia ay inaasahang magla-landfall sa hilaga sa kahabaan ng baybayin, sa tinatawag na Big Bend area — isang malawak na marshy region na, hindi gaya ng karamihan ng baybayin sa paligid ng Florida, ay walang barrier islands.
Ang bagyo ay tinatayang magbabagsak ng hanggang 12 pulgada o 30 sentimetro ng ulan sa ilang bahagi ng Florida Panhandle, na potensiyal na magdudulot ng mga flash flood at urban flooding.
Sinabi ni DeSantis, “We’ve not really had a hurricane strike this area for a long, long time. You are going to see a lot of debris — there’s a lot of trees along that track.”
Antonio Floyd places sandbags in a pickup truck at the Helen S. Howarth Community Park ahead of the possible arrival of Hurricane Idalia on August 29, 2023 in Pinellas Park, Florida. Hurricane Idalia is forecast to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Wednesday morning. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Noong Lunes ay nakipagpulong si US President Joe Biden kay DeSantis at inaprubahan ang isang emergency declaration para sa estado, upang makapagpalabas ng federal funds at resources.
Nagpahayag ng pag-aalala si Biden sa nagbabantang “storm surge” at sinabi sa mga mamamahayag na ‘oras-oras” na minomonitor ng federal authorities ang bagyo.
Anang pangulo, “We’ll make sure they have everything they need.”
Bago pa man ang pagdating ni Idalia, ay isinara na ang Tampa International Airport, habang naantala rin ang flights sa US East Coast, dahil isa pang hurricane na may pangalang Franklin ang nananalasa naman sa Atlantic.
Isinailalim na rin sa storm watch ang Georgia at South Carolina, dahil inaasahang dadaan si Idalia sa northeast sa ibabaw ng Florida bago lumabas patungo sa Atlantic.
Ayon pa sa NHC, “All three states could see flooding on Wednesday or Thursday, with Idalia likely maintaining hurricane force across Georgia.”
