Cedar Key residents return to island to check out damage from Idalia
Residents of Cedar Key are being allowed back on the island Thursday with a pass to check on their homes, a day after Hurricane Idalia struck Florida’s Big Bend region as a Category 3 storm.
Some returned to find their homes destroyed by Idalia.
“As you can see, it’s unlivable,” resident Chuck Adams told Local 10 News reporter Andrea Martinez.
Homes were destroyed and debris remains scattered all over the roads.
Adams lost the bottom half of his home. What once was a small room, a garage and a laundry room are gone.
“We have no power, we have no water, so it’s not wise for me to stay here, so I’m going to try to find a place to go,” he said.
By Thursday morning, the power was back on for some, but not for everyone.
“We have wires dangling in places that I’m not sure it’s safe to have the power on,” Adams said.
On Wednesday, the roads were closed and no one was allowed on or off the island.
On Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the Florida Department of Transportation was able to clear bridges, including the Cedar Key Bridge.
Residents told Local 10 News the storm surge reached 6-7 feet in some areas, but the water receded pretty quickly, so now we are getting a look at what is left behind.
A lot of buildings were salvaged, with the structures still there, but they were devastated by flooding.
Cedar Key Fire Rescue confirmed overnight that some power has been restored on the island. But as they are turning power back on, they are seeing more shortages due to some devices still being underwater.
DeSantis said Wednesday night that there was one unconfirmed fatality. Officials are looking into that.
“Fortunately, the search and rescue operations, the hasty searches and the really impacted areas – it’s been different than what they were finding with Hurricane Ian and that’s obviously welcome news.”
The governor went on to say they didn’t get the panicked phone calls of people in distress needing search and rescue like they did with Ian.
There is still no water or sewage in some parts of the island, so because of that, those residents who do have a pass are being asked to come check in on their property, see what needs to be done and leave again if possible.
