THE Florida Governor's Mansion and current home of Ron DeSantis has been hit by a fallen tree while his wife and three children were home as Hurricane Idalia crossed the state as a Category 3 storm.
Hurricane Idalia barrelled through the Sunshine State on Wednesday morning, leaving at least two dead, thousands of homes without power, and dozens of communities submerged in water.
8
8
8
The massive storm was weakened to a Category 2 storm two hours after making landfall in Florida.
The state capital of Tallahassee, where the Governor's Mansion is located, avoided the worst of the storm.
However, the DeSantis family had quite a scare after a tree fell on the home due to Hurricane Idalia's powerful winds.
"100 year old oak tree falls on the Governor's Mansion in Tallahassee - Mason, Madison, Mamie and I were home at the time, but thankfully no one was injured," Florida's First Lady Casey DeSantis shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Read more in The U.S. Sun
"Our prayers are with everyone impacted by the storm," she added.
Hurricane Idalia exited Florida midday as it swept toward Georgia as a Category 1 storm with 85 mph winds.
COMMUNITIES IN RUINS
The storm left dozens of communities across Florida in ruins, with winds peaking at over 130 mph.
The National Weather Service in Tallahassee branded the storm an "unprecedented event."
Most read in The US Sun
One Horseshoe Beach resident posted a video on X of the storm causing huge waves.
The footage showed the catastrophic event as waves rolled past an isolated house and submerged the camera.
Meanwhile, several Floridians across the state posted pictures of road closures and submerged streets as images captured the damage left behind by Idalia.
One X user shared a photograph of their childhood home taken from a security camera, captioning the post: "Hudson, on the Gulf. My childhood home. Cameras went out at 7:08am this morning, and this was the last pic."
The house was seen surrounded by water, with its residents left to worry about what would be left behind after the storm took out the property's camera.
As of Wednesday morning, over 200,000 Floridians were without power, according to PowerOutage.
8
8
8
TWO DEAD FOLLOWING EXTREME CONDITIONS
In Florida, extreme rainy conditions from Hurricane Idalia led to the death of two men in separate car crashes, according to the state's highway patrol.
A 59-year-old Gainesville man was driving his Toyota pickup truck when the vehicle swerved and veered into a ditch.
The unidentified driver was pronounced dead at the scene by highway officials.
The second incident involved a 40-year-old Spring Hill man driving his pickup truck during the severe storm.
Authorities said the man was driving too fast for the conditions and lost control of the vehicle before crashing into a tree.
The man died from his injuries at the crash site, Florida Highway Patrol said.
Read More on The US Sun
Meanwhile, Governor DeSantis said crews were still assessing the damage in affected areas but noted that the reported fatalities are unconfirmed.
"We've got a lot of people that are going in offering assistance from the state, helping these counties stabilize the situation," DeSantis said during a midday press conference on Wednesday.
8
8
