STEINHATCHEE, Florida, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Florida's Gulf Coast braced on Wednesday for fierce winds, torrential rain and surging seawater from Idalia, forecast to become "an extremely dangerous" Category 4 hurricane, as it swirled toward a direct hit on the state's Big Bend region.
Most of Florida's 21 million residents, and many in the adjacent states of Georgia and South Carolina, were under hurricane warnings and other storm-related advisories.
Any storm reaching Category 3 or higher is considered a major hurricane.
1 killer in all of these storms is water," Deanne Criswell, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's administrator, said on CNN.
Idalia-related disruptions extended to Florida's Atlantic coast at Cape Canaveral, where the Tuesday launch of a rocket carrying a U.S. Space Force intelligence satellite was delayed indefinitely.
Persons:
Kevin Guthrie, Rene Hoffman, Idalia, Steve Pizzano, Adrees Latif, Biden, Ron DeSantis, Irma, Michael, Ian, DeSantis, Milton Bontrager, Maria Alejandra Cardona, Marco Bello, Joey Roulette, Rich McKay, Nelson Acosta, Dave Sherwood, Brad Brooks, Brendan O'Brien, Nandita Bose, Steve Gorman, Gerry Doyle
Organizations:
Reuters Graphics Reuters, National Hurricane Center, NHC, REUTERS, Federal Emergency Management, CNN, White, Florida, Republican, U.S . Space Force, Tampa International Airport, National Guard, Thomson
Locations:
STEINHATCHEE, Florida, Idalia, Bend, Gulf of Mexico, Georgia, South Carolina, Steinhatchee , Florida, Miami, Cedar Key , Florida, Gulf Coast, North, Sarasota, Apalachicola Bay ., Clearwater Beach , Florida, U.S, Gulf, Gainesville, Tallahassee, Tampa, St, Petersburg, Cape Canaveral, Cuba, Tampa , Florida, Atlanta, Havana, Guanimar, Longmont , Colorado, Chicago, Washington