Hurricane Idalia updates: Biden promises to ‘take care of Florida’ on visit after DeSantis snub
President Biden assesses scale of impacts from Hurricane Idalia from the sky before conducting a walking tour of communities Flood waters from Hurricane Idalia inundate Steinhatchee, Florida Joe Biden told Florida residents your nation has your back on Saturday as he toured areas of the state damaged by Hurricane Idalia . The president assessed the scale of the storms impact from the air, before meeting members of the public on a walking tour. But while Mr Biden was joined by one of the states Republican senators Rick Scott his trip was snubbed by governor Ron DeSantis , a possible rival in the next presidential election. As Ive told your governor, if theres anything your state needs, Im ready to mobilize that support, Mr Biden said. Idalia ploughed into Florida as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday morning before losing power as it moved inland through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina . At around 5pm on Saturday afternoon the National Hurricane Center issued what it said was its final advisory on Idalia, noting that the post-tropical cyclone had moved away off Bermuda and that the storm warning for the island was discontinued. Potentially dangerous surf and rip currents from Idalia will continue to hit the US east coast throughout the Labor Day weekend, it warned. Florida Gov Ron DeSantis said that his state will apply for federal dollars to help recover after Hurricane Idalia despite the fact he voted against providing disaster relief when he was in Congress . Eric Garcia reports. In career as US representative, the governor and presidential candidate warned against credit card spending Joe Biden visited Florida today to survey the extent of the damage caused by Hurrican Idalia when it made landfall on Wednesday morning near Big Bend. Mr Biden was accompanied by First Lady Jill Biden. The pairs schedule showed that this afternoon the couple will take an aerial tour of the region to get a wider view of the impact the storm had on Floridas coast. Debris is littered around the damaged Regency Inn Perry in Perry, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Idalia, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 Joe Biden said were going to save Florida when asked if he had a statement for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Mr DeSantis said he did not plan to meet with the president during his trip to Florida to survey the wreckage of Hurricane Idalia. The governor said the logistics of securing the area for the visit would slow recovery efforts. In the final hours before Hurricane Idalia struck Florida the storm had grown into a Category 4 beast lurking off the states west coast, and the forecast called for it to continue intensifying up until landfall. An Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft had recorded winds up to 130 mph (215 kph), the National Hurricane Center said in an ominous bulletin at 6 a.m. Wednesday. As the sun rose an hour later, however, there was evidence the hurricane began replacing the wall around its eye a phenomenon that experts say kept it from further intensifying. Maximum winds had dropped to near 125 mph (205 kph), the Hurricane Center said in a 7 a.m. update. Then came another surprising twist: A last-minute turn sparing the states capital city of Tallahassee from far more serious damage. Eyewall replacement cycles are common in major hurricanes, and so when you see that, it does lead to some temporary weakening, said Kelly Godsey, one of the meteorologists tracking the storm at the National Weather Service in Tallahassee, where his colleagues slept inside the weather office so they could be at work in case the city was devastated. READ MORE: In the final hours before Hurricane Idalia struck Florida, experts say its eye experienced a phenomenon that kept it from further intensifying A resident in Florida thanked Joe Biden for the federal governments assistance in the recovery efforts following Hurricane Idalia. We are really an economically challenged area and the help that has come in is just I cant say thank you enough, the resident says in the video. A Fox News feed carrying the shot died out shortly after the resident made the comments. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis expressed concerns that Joe Bidens visit to Florida on Wednesday to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Idalia would hinder recovery efforts. One thing I did mention to him on the phone is where these communities the hardest-hit communities it would be very disruptive to have the whole kind of security apparatus that goes...Im sure theyll be sensitive to that, Mr DeSantis said during a presser. The governor declined to meet with Mr Biden, citing concerns for the recovery effort. Mr DeSantis is aiming to challenge Mr Biden in the 2024 presidential election. U.S. President Joe Biden visits Suwannee Pineview Elementary School, during his tour of Hurricane Idalia storm destruction in Live Oak, Florida, U.S., September 2, 202 Joe Biden held a press conference in Florida on Saturday to affirm his administrations committment to Floridas recovery in the wake of Hurricane Idalia. The storm made landfall Wednesday morning, leaving a trail of destruction from Big Bend, Florida, inland. Joe Biden said that no one intelligent can question the severity of the climate crisis during a visit to Florida to survey the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia. Nobody can deny the impact of climate crisesat least nobody intelligent can deny the impact of the climate crisis anymore, he said during the visit. Mr Biden and First Lady Jill Biden toured the states west coast, where Hurricane Idalia made landfall on Wednesday morning. Joe Biden offered a tribute to legandary singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, who died early Monday aged 76. Mr Biden called Buffett, known for his tropical pop and beach bum aesthetic, a poet of paradise and offered his condolences to the singers family. The president was visiting Florida the subject and inspiration of many of Buffets songs as well as his adopted home to survey the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia on the day the singers death was announced. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden talk with a woman as they tour Hurricane Idalia storm destruction in a neighborhood of Live Oak, Florida, U.S., September 2, 2023 REUTERS Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. 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