Idalia Photo Report
Photos and words: Sean Rayford
As Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the Big Bend area of Florida, my goal was to reach Perry - from Gainesville. The motorists in the first photograph were driving from the town of Mayo, which was my route to Perry. These folks tossed a bunch of branches into the mud for traction and escaped the muddy shoulder, burning rubber once on the asphalt. I decided not to go that way. (To license or see more photos: Getty Images)
8:49 AM - Mayo, Florida - August 30, 2023
For the next three hours I tried to find an alternative route, but each one was blocked by fallen trees or it was a farm road that I wasn’t getting on. After breaking out my chainsaw, axe and traction pads (to help another motorist) I fought my way to I-10 - where for miles, it was smooth sailing. Until the town of Madison.
1:21 PM - I-10 / Madison, Florida - August 30, 2023
Traffic was backed up and halted near an overpass, so I pulled off the shoulder and jogged up the concrete ramp for a better view. More trucks. It looked like trees were down ahead, but it was tough to make out. When I got back to my vehicle, a man in a pickup asked me what I saw and I told him.
“Well, I’ve got a chainsaw. I’m trying to get to Talahasse.”
2:11 PM - I-10 / Madison, Florida - August 30, 2023
Moments later, the two of us were using the shoulder to reach the first trees. In less than ten minutes he was cutting and and I was dragging away the limbs, and we were joined by a few other motorists. This went on for an hour or so, and then the cavalry started showing up. A man with DOT and two teams, one from Oklahoma and one from Texas, started cutting bigger sections of limbs and dragging them off with chains and trucks.
From where I initially pulled over at the backup, it was 4.4 miles to the exit where traffic was able to escape I-10. The photo below shows the the final stretch.
3:09 PM - I-10 / Madison, Florida - August 30, 2023
3:20 PM - I-10 / Madison, Florida - August 30, 2023
3:58 PM - I-10 / Madison, Florida - August 30, 2023
The tractor and operator in the photo above were game changers in the speed of this operation. Instead of dragging individual limbs with trucks, he quickly pushed them around and off the road. After making it to the offramp, I was able to find a signal, send more photos. The side road to Perry was clear. Lesson learned: if you want to escape first, get out and do the work.
6:58 PM - Perry, Florida - August 30, 2023
According to a resident, the vehicle in the photo above crashed after hitting a downed tree during the storm. Fortunately the floodwater came after the accident.
7:13 PM - Perry, Florida - August 30, 2023
7:27 PM - Perry, Florida - August 30, 2023
7:53 PM - Perry, Florida - August 30, 2023
7:01 AM - Perry, Florida - August 31, 2023
I overnighted in the Walmart parking lot with many others working in the storm impact area. Most of the folks I spoke with felt the storm had been tamer than expected.
8:18 AM - Perry, Florida - August 31, 2023
9:03 AM - Perry, Florida - August 31, 2023
12:50 PM - Keaton Beach, Florida - August 31, 2023
Hurricane Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane at 7:45 AM on August 30 near Keaton Beach, Florida. Maximum sustained winds were recorded near 125 mph.
12:52 PM - Keaton Beach, Florida - August 31, 2023
1:13 PM - Keaton Beach, Florida - August 31, 2023
Northwest of Keaton Beach, Gov. Ron DeSantis gave a press conference at Steinhatchee Marina at Deadman Bay, where storm surge was the biggest problem.
2:19 PM - (Deadman Bay) Steinhatchee, Florida - August 31, 2023
3:53 PM - (Deadman Bay) Steinhatchee, Florida - August 31, 2023
4:26 PM - Steinhatchee, Florida - August 31, 2023
