CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. — It started with a blast of wind-driven rain at 6 a.m.
An inner rain band of Hurricane Idalia lashed Kings Bay in Crystal River late Tuesday, pushing the first of feet of storm surge toward land.
What You Need To Know
- Citrus County residents and business owners dealt with pounding winds and rising rain levels from Idalia
- Idalia lashed Kings Bay in Crystal River late Tuesday and into Wednesday
- LIVE UPDATES: Aftermath of Idalia in Tampa Bay
That surge continued to rise Wednesday, knocking on the door of neighborhoods and dozens of small town businesses.
“This water has risen in an hour from walking back there to up to your waste,” said Marty Hoffman, whose son works on commercial fishing boats in Crystal River. He came to try and help workers from losing the boats as the surge quickly pushed in.
“There’s four commercial fishing boats back there that they are trying to keep from floating into buildings,” he said.
Away from the docks, there’s water where it’s not supposed to be.
Meanwhile, along the North Citrus Avenue shopping district, businesses owners threatened by rising water could only watch Wednesday afternoon, waiting to see how long the inshore winds will push water in.
Aside from the storm surge, more than 3,000 power outages are being reported.
And at least one fire was reported, an electrical fire, potentially due to storm surge.