FLORIDA, USA — It's officially been one year since Hurricane Idalia tore through the southeastern United States, leaving extensive damage across Florida's Big Bend and leading to the deaths of 12 people, according to NOAA.
What originally started as an area of disturbed weather off the coast of Central America on Aug. 23, 2023, slowly intensified into a Category 4 hurricane. Idalia then weakened, making landfall as a Category 3 storm at 7:45 a.m. on Aug. 30 near Keaton Beach, Florida, according to the National Weather Service.
NWS forecasters said Idalia produced a "devastating" surge along coastal communities in Taylor and Dixie Counties, reaching maximized winds of 125 mph. Heights from that surge along the coast ranged between 7 to 12 feet above normally dry ground.
Waves also averaged around three feet on top of the peak surge. The NWS made note that Idalia made landfall around the time of low tide – meaning if it was only around six hours later, the peak water levels could've been anywhere from 3 to 4 feet higher.
One of Hurricane Idalia's greatest impacts was the damage caused by its winds, according to NWS. Timber and agriculture industries in Taylor, Madison and Lafayette County were reportedly hit the hardest.
Madison County also saw one person killed by a falling tree as the storm passed through, NWS said.
The high-water mark surveys from Hurricane Idalia led forecasters to draw comparisons to the "Storm of the Century," when a non-tropical system affected the Sunshine State's Big Bend region in March 1993, according to NWS.
"Moreover, Dixie County Emergency Management noted that the inland extent of the storm surge from Hurricane Idalia moved much further inland from Horseshoe Beach than observed in 'The Storm of the Century,'" NWS officials said.
While Tampa Bay was spared a direct hit from Hurricane Idalia, communities and neighborhoods still saw significant flooding, as storm surge sampled neighborhoods and caused shutdowns of some bridges between the Tampa and St. Petersburg area.
In Jan. 2024, St. Pete received $600,000 from the state to help Shore Acres residents recover from that flooding, but neighbors like Liane Jamason said it was "too little, too late."
“If a thousand people get $600, it's not enough," Jamason said. "$600 doesn't even cover the deductible for most homeowners."
In addition, cleanup from Idalia's flooding impacts in Tampa Bay led to insurance woes for many, including hospice nurse Kimberly Culbertson.
Culbertson and her family said they filed an insurance claim after the storm and while they were able to get enough to replace a substantial amount of damage and goods, they were denied money to replace their flooring.
“We had to prove that our tile and our slab got wet, so [the adjustor] recommended we pull one tile up from each corner and we can prove it was wet and we did do that,” said Culbertson, who showed videos of water seeping up over her tiles when pressed on.
Manatee County leaders had to ask for federal help as well when Anna Maria Island experienced an erosion problem in the aftermath of Idalia. County leaders estimated that they lost almost 50,000 cubic yards worth of sand in places like Coquina Beach. That is equal to more than 13 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Access to barrier islands was also shut off, as several dozen people had to be rescued from flooded homes.
In all, the NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information estimated that Hurricane Idalia caused $3.6 billion in damage, most of which occurred in Florida's Big Bend region.