FLORIDA, USA — Hurricane Idalia made landfall on Wednesday in Florida's Big Bend region.
Associated Press photos show flooding submerging roads in Perry, Dekle Beach and Keaton Beach after the Category 3 storm moved through the area.
Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach at 7:45 a.m. with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph. It had weakened to a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph by late Wednesday afternoon.
Unlike last year's Hurricane Ian, which hit the heavily populated Fort Myers area, leaving 149 dead in the state, Idalia blew into a very lightly inhabited area known as Florida's “nature coast."
PHOTOS: Flooding in Florida's Big Bend region where Idalia made landfall
Power was knocked out to hundreds of thousands in the state during the storm. Duke Energy announced plans to restore power to 95% of customers affected by Hurricane Idalia by Wednesday night, with the exception of those in the hardest hit areas.
Forecasters say the storm will punish the Carolinas overnight as a tropical storm. The National Hurricane Center forecast predicts Idalia will move deeper into the Atlantic this weekend.
The Florida Disaster Fund has been activated to assist areas across the state that will be impacted by Hurricane Idalia.
The fund helps support service organizations that will help people with disaster recovery, the governor's office said in a news release. People can click or tap here to donate.
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