Hurricane Idalia: Central Florida returning to normal as northern counties begin recovery
Hurricane Idalia spared Central Florida overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, with the Orlando area receiving several bands of rain and gusts of winds – though a far cry from devastation experienced elsewhere in the state.
No major damage was reported in Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola counties by authorities. Orange saw between 1.5 and 2.5 inches of rain as the hurricane blew by, Mayor Jerry Demings said.
“Storms are unpredictable,” Demings said at a Wednesday news conference. “Always treat them like they are serious. We always plan for the worst and we hope for the best. While we may have been less impacted by the storm than some areas, that storm could have turned and we could have been more impacted.”
Government operations ranging from public schools, city halls and county administration offices are due to reopen Thursday, as garbage collection and other services resume.
One large tree was reported down in the Conway area, while the Orlando Utilities Commission had about 28 outages related to the storm, and Duke Energy peaked at around 500 outages, Demings said. Of more than 700 traffic signals countywide, just nine were damaged Demings said.
Shelters in Orange and Lake counties were closed by midday Wednesday. Orange County officials say 151 people used them and 90% were unhoused.
Overall, it was a sigh of relief, compared with dramatic images of storm surge and devastation in the Big Bend, where the Category 3 hurricane made landfall near Keaton Beach.
“This is a good test run for the next storm, and I’m sure they’ll be one,” said Lauraleigh Avery, the emergency manager for Orange County.
In Osceola, emergency manager Bill Litton said government operations would reopen Thursday and traffic signals were all operational.
“The good news is, we have no damages to report throughout the county,” he said in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
Orlando experienced minimal impacts from the storm, city officials said.
Lake County plans to reopen its government operations on Thursday, said James Frye, a county spokesperson.
By midday, Seminole County had nearly deactivated its emergency response center after reports of “minimal damage,” across the county, according to county spokesperson Andy Wontor.
“It really wasn’t that bad,” she said, regarding reports of storm damage.
Martin Comas of the Sentinel staff contributed.
