Hurricane Idalia

DeSantis says additional funding will hopefully get Floridians back on their feet after Hurricane Idalia destroyed parts of the Big Bend.

The Category 3 storm killed a dozen people and likely cost the United States more than $3 billion.

Researchers at the University of Florida found that nature-based "living shoreline" projects significantly reduced wave energy and were largely undamaged during Hurricane Idalia last year.

Chickens are more susceptible to dying after hurricanes because of how farmers have to keep them. Chickens require raised houses and need to be kept cool to survive. This means hurricane-force winds alone can take down countless chicken houses and power outages can overheat them, effectively putting local farmers out of livestock and business.

While heat seems top of mind, state leaders did not respond to it with the same intensity of a tropical storm or hurricane, said a panel of journalists speaking on the Florida Roundup.

The unexpected storm caused "significant" damage to some of the sand dunes that had been replenished after Hurricane Idalia washed away five feet of sand in some places.

Some residents say it has been difficult to get assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Businesses and homeowners have until the extended deadline of Dec. 14, 2023, for physical disaster loans through the United States Small Business Administration. Economic Injury Disaster Loans are still available through May 31, 2024.

Duke will also collect $166.1 million in storm-related costs from customers next year.

After Hurricane Idalia swept through North Florida, some farmers faced tough decisions about whether to continue their profession or “sell out and leave.”

Three months after Idalia, many here are more preoccupied with recovery than COP28.

State Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie credited lessons from hurricanes Irma in 2017, Michael in 2018 and Ian and Nicole in 2022 for helping speed the recovery after Idalia.