Before-and-after photographs shared Thursday show the total and utter destruction of Hurricane Idalia.
Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 storm in Florida on Wednesday, bringing enormous storm surges and sustained winds of 125 mph to the Gulf shores. Footage shared from Englewood, Florida, shows how the area looked before the surges pummeled the coastline, along with the absolute devastation once the storm moved north.
Before & after: This road in Englewood, Florida, was washed away by Hurricane Idalia. pic.twitter.com/ZyYO6nzNr4
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) August 31, 2023
A longer video shared by AccuWeather on YouTube showed how Idalia tore through a gas station, knocking the entire structure sideways. In Sarasota, surges breached through boutiques, and flood waters turned a cute little downtown boulevard into a swimming pool.
McDonald’s will have to fork out for repairs after one of their iconic golden arches was left half-broken, hanging high above the restaurant. Similarly, the entire signage above a Dollar Tree location was hurled onto the ground beneath the entry. (RELATED: Videos Show Early Stages Of Hurricane Idalia Making Destructive Landfall In Florida)
Satellite imagery prior to Idalia’s landfall showed the system gaining strength, but by the time it moved over the Gulf coast, it was downgraded to a Cat. 2. Warnings were issued to Georgia and the Carolinas, but a majority of the region was left untouched … except for a brief tornado that ripped through Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday afternoon.