Jimmy Patronis, chief financial officer for the State of Florida, said flooding from Hurricane Idalia this week was "severe but fast," with insurance claims not expected to be as high as Hurricane Ian last year.
"The silver lining to Idalia is if it was going to pick Florida, and it was going to find a path through Florida, it went fast," Patronis said Thursday on Newsmax's "National Report." "It went 18, 19 miles per hour and it went through one of our least populated paths that it could go through through the state of Florida."
UBS bank estimated average insured losses of $9.36 billion with a 50% chance of losses of over $4.05 billion and a 10% likelihood of losses of $25.6 billion, based on Aug. 28 data, reported Reuters. The wide range reflected potential changes in the storm's intensity and path.
At about $10 billion, Idalia would cost insurers less than 10 of the costliest hurricanes to hit the U.S.
Patronis said the devastation is "still heavy. The flooding was severe but fast. At least there's not the type of rain intensity that a 5-mile-per-hour or 3-mile power storm would have dumped on the area."
Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach at 7:45 a.m. as a high-end Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph. The system remained a hurricane as it crossed into Georgia with top winds of 90 mph. It weakened to a tropical storm by late Wednesday afternoon, and its winds had dropped to 60 mph by Wednesday night.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.