Hurricane Idalia unleashes fury on Georgia and Florida, swamping wide stretch of coast

This photo provided by FDOT shows flooded interstate 275 Over Tampa Bay, Fla., on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. Hurricane Idalia steamed toward Florida’s Big Bend region Wednesday morning, threatening deadly storm surges and destructive winds in an area not accustomed to such pummeling. (FDOT via AP)

This story was updated at 3:12 p.m.

Hurricane Idalia made landfall Wednesday in Florida as a Category 3 storm and unleashed devastation along a wide stretch of the Gulf Coast, submerging homes and vehicles, turning streets into rivers, unmooring small boats and downing power lines before sweeping into Georgia.

Almost 375,000 customers in Florida and Georgia lost power while rushing water covered streets near the coast. As the eye moved inland, high winds shredded signs, sent sheet metal flying and snapped tall trees.