A look at ground zero of Hurricane Idalia’s in Florida. One video stream is underwater
Hurricane Idalia has swamped some small communities along Florida’s Nature Coast, pushing several feet of gulf waters into the streets in Cedar Key, Steinhatchee and Horseshoe Beach.
Captured by static live cameras that have broadcast Idalia’s movement over the Big Bend, the storm surge has flooded homes and businesses in these villages. On the social media platform X, Mark Suddath (@hurricanetrack) posted about a coastal camera at Horseshoe Beach that amazingly kept operating as it went underwater during the surge.
“Heartbreaking,” said Christie Calhoun, social media and event coordinator for the Steinhatchee Marina at Deadman Bay. She had evacuated to a hotel about 15 miles inland and watched live footage from a camera mounted at the top of the marina maintained by Gainesville TV station WCJB TV20.
Steinhatchee
Idalia’s storm surge pushed water up several feet here, according to the view from the WCJB camera.
This community that is best known for its scalloping, which attracts tourists during the summer. Labor Day weekend is typically known as the final part of the season. The storm, which cut it short by a few days, has likely washed the remaining scallops away.
Early Wednesday, Jody Griffis, the owner of Steinhatchee Marina at Deadman Bay was a bit shaken as he watched the surge roll in from the third floor of his building, where he stayed with his wife. Griffis, a boat captain, told the Miami Herald he felt the building sway a little at times in the high winds.
Cedar Key
The water rose nearly 7 feet in Cedar Key. Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore was stationed in this quiet island town during the worst of the storm. Streets lined with quaint cottages and small shops were inundated.
Horseshoe Beach
In this little fishing village of few than 200 people, about 15 residents had told authorities on Tuesday that they planned to stay in their homes through the storm.
Wednesday morning, footage posted on social media by RadarOmega showed waves overtaking a shed in Horseshoe Beach. The camera, which was mounted 10 feet above sea level, was knocked out.
