On Wednesday, Florida’s Highway Patrol reported two fatalities in weather-related car accidents, coinciding with the arrival of Hurricane Idalia on the Gulf Coast of the United States.
According to a statement from the agency, one incident occurred in the Pasco area, where a 40-year-old driver lost control of their vehicle and collided with a tree, resulting in their demise.
In another incident, a 59-year-old man’s car collided with trees amidst “extremely heavy rain” in the Alachua region, leading to his death.
Residents along Florida’s western coast were issued evacuation orders on Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Ida’s landfall.
Meteorological experts had warned that the storm was intensifying remarkably over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and it was likely to become “extremely dangerous” before reaching the mainland.
Idalia had rapidly transformed into a Category 1 hurricane, as indicated by the US National Hurricane Center, and was making its way towards Florida’s southwestern region.
Prior to this, the storm had battered western areas of Cuba with tropical storm conditions.
The National Hurricane Center stated that the warm Gulf waters, reaching temperatures nearing 31 degrees Celsius, would transform Idalia into a dangerous major hurricane before making landfall on Wednesday.
Typically, major hurricanes fall under Category 3 or higher on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale, capable of causing “devastating” and “catastrophic” damage, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis urged residents in evacuated areas along the Gulf Coast to leave “now.”
Last year, more than 100 individuals lost their lives when Hurricane Ian, classified as a Category 4 storm, struck Florida’s western coast, causing storms, intense winds that demolished bridges, swept away buildings, and resulted in damages exceeding $100 billion.
