Tampa, Florida – Hurricane Idalia slammed into northwest Florida as an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 storm early Wednesday, buffeting coastal communities with cascades of water as officials warned of "catastrophic" flooding. It moved into Georgia and the Carolinas on Wednesday afternoon as a tropical storm.

Authorities described Idalia and its potentially deadly high surging waters as a once-in-a-lifetime event for the area most affected, ordering mass evacuations.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Idalia, which earlier raked western Cuba, was packing maximum sustained winds of approximately 125 miles per hour when it made landfall around 7:45 AM EST in Florida's marshy Big Bend area. The NHC said the storm strengthened and came ashore near the community of Keaton Beach, as an "extremely dangerous Category 3 Hurricane, and warned of a possible disastrous storm surge of up to 16 feet in some coastal areas.

The city of St. Petersburg, Florida said more than 75 people have been rescued from flood waters on X.

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The eye of the storm had left Florida by Wednesday afternoon, Governor Ron DeSantis said at a press conference.

Though Idalia lost strength as it moved inland towards Georgia, becoming a Category 1 storm, authorities warned residents of the aftermath, and the dangers of high tide.

Unlike most other coastal regions in the state, Big Bend – a marshy area along the Gulf of Mexico – does not have barrier islands.

The NHC said water levels were more than six feet above normal in Cedar Key, a string of islands jutting into the Gulf, and warned that waters along the coast were "rising rapidly."

In the Tampa Bay area – a major metropolitan zone of some three million people – streets were submerged and flood waters swept across yards.

The White House said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had prepositioned emergency personnel and resources.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had urged residents of 23 counties along Florida's Gulf coast to evacuate and head to shelters or hotels outside the danger zones. The US presidential candidate had warned the hurricane was on track to be the strongest to impact the region in more than a century.

Meteorologists are also pointing to a rare blue supermoon which could further raise tides above normal levels just as Idalia pounds the coastline.

Tampa International Airport and other regional airports closed, while flights were disrupted along the East Coast as another hurricane, Franklin, churns in the Atlantic.

Almost 150 people were killed last year when Hurricane Ian slammed Florida's west coast as a Category 4 storm, bringing ocean surges and strong winds that downed bridges and swept away buildings.

Florida's Gulf Coast, Georgia, and parts of North and South Carolina could face up to 8 inches of rain continuing through Thursday.