Hurricane Idalia hits Florida's west coast in a composite image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) GOES-East weather satellite August 30, 2023. NOAA/Handout REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Millions of Florida residents evacuated to higher ground after Hurricane Idalia, an "extremely dangerous" Category 3 storm, made landfall on Wednesday at the state's Gulf Coast. Idalia was forecast to unleash destructive winds and torrential downpours that will cause coastal flooding up to 16 feet (5 m) deep. An early news briefing by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was interrupted for a few seconds by a power cut. Shares of NextEra Energy (NEE.N), which owns the Florida Power & Light Company, the state's largest utility, was little changed at $67.51.

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Persons: Idalia, Ron DeSantis, Kinder Morgan, Owens Corning's, Chibuike Oguh, Lance Tupper, Marguerita Choy Organizations: National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Handout REUTERS, Florida, NextEra Energy, Florida Power & Light Company, Duke Energy, Generac Holdings, Chevron, Universal Insurance Holdings, Allstate Corporation, American International, Home, Lowe's, Thomson Locations: Florida, Gulf Coast, Idalia, Georgia, South Carolina, U.S, Gulf, Mexico, New York