StEER: Hurricane Idalia Annotated Media Repository

This project encompasses the products of StEER's Level 1 response to this event: Preliminary Virtual Reconnaissance Report (PVRR) with corresponding Media Repository.

Hurricane Idalia made landfall along the coast of the Florida Big Bend as a Category 3 hurricane on August 30, 2023, near Keaton Beach, FL. Marked by one of the fastest rates of tropical cyclone intensification observed in the Atlantic basin, the hurricane made landfall with maximum sustained wind speeds near 125 mph. The associated wind field had a relatively small radius of 12 miles, which was approximately half of the radius associated with 2022’s Hurricane Ian. The hurricane caused powerful winds and storm surge, with recorded water levels of approximately 8-9 ft above mean sea level in coastal communities such as Cedar Key and Keaton Beach, FL. The storm brought heavy rainfall across Florida, and portions of Georgia and South Carolina.
The hurricane impacted a sparsely populated region along the Florida Big Bend, and observations of building and infrastructure damage were generally limited. Wind-induced non-structural damage was observed in residential and commercial buildings and schools in communities across Taylor County, FL, with some evidence of wind-induced structural damage. Storm surge-induced damage was observed in older structures that lacked sufficient elevation above the ground, and there was some evidence of displacement of manufactured homes by storm surge. In addition to the temporary closure of some bridges and roadways due to the associated flooding, the storm surge also caused damage to some roadway and bridge infrastructure due to weakening of the supporting soils. Power outages caused by the storm affected approximately half a million customers in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.
As the storm primarily affected a lightly inhabited region, the damage patterns observed in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia may have limited potential to generate new knowledge for natural hazards engineering. However, the event may still offer important lessons regarding: (1) human perceptions of risk and voluntary mitigation investments by individuals and communities to address vulnerable properties with little to no freeboard, (2) code-exempted agricultural buildings, and (3) older manufactured and mobile homes in highly exposed areas.