PERRY, Fla. – Hurricane Idalia left a path of destruction behind Wednesday in Perry, Florida.
Conditions began deteriorating across the area early Wednesday morning before Idalia made landfall as a Category 3 storm.
Local 10 News reporter Christian De La Rosa was in Perry as the rain and wind began picking up.
WATCH: Conditions in Perry after Hurricane Idalia made landfall
He described first hearing “the wind howling” earlier in the morning before feeling “sharp” raindrops on his skin as the wind picked up.
He said the worst of the storm was over by 10 a.m. Some trees had fallen down and a billboard next to his hotel had fallen over, causing some wood panels to fall on vehicles that were parked nearby.
Patty Pickett. a Perry resident, told Local 10 News said she’s never seen a storm like Idalia since living in the area.
“It was bad and it was heavy, heavy winds-- the worst I’ve ever been in,” she said.
Some gas pumps were also ripped from the ground and knocked over.
“We were happy that (it) didn’t catch on fire,” said one woman who lives nearby.
De La Rosa said a lot of signage was also blown out and trees were uprooted, making some roads impassable.
Some fallen trees also knocked down power lines.
According to Florida Power & Light, power was restored to more than 100,000 customers across the state, as of 11 a.m., and 28,000 customers were still without power.
FPL officials said a restoration workforce of 12,000 men and women from Florida and 16 other states are working to restore power to all with more than a dozen staging, parking and processing sites.
Some residents told De La Rosa that they were working to clear the roadways near their homes themselves so vehicles could pass through since first responders have so much to deal with already.
“Worst one we’ve been through,” one woman said about the storm. “We went through the storm of 78 in Massachusetts where, you know, everything was flooded out, but this one was worse than snow.”
In Perry, residents were urged to leave the area, but some decided to stick it out while some moved from their homes to a hotel to ride out the storm.
De La Rosa spoke to one woman who has loved ones in Steinhatchee, which is just south of Perry. She was worried for their homes as they are located on the water.
“I mean, our boyfriends built that house and if they lose it, it’s not going to be good,” she said. “They have fishing boats because that’s what he does for a living -- house boats in the yard -- like they’re going to lose a lot.”
People in the area told De La Rosa that Steinhatchee was already experiencing severe flooding by 6:30 a.m.
The National Guard was in Steinhatchee to help out with the storm but that didn’t stop Arthur and Patricia Fletcher from offering their helping hands to those that were in need.
Patricia Fletcher told Local 10 News that she and her husband cleared a road from debris on their own. They also said their neighbors’ cars were crushed by falling tree limbs from the aftermath of the storm.
“Just thanking God every minute that we’re still here and you know this stuff is nothing as long as everybody’s OK, said Fletcher.
Amy Glover told Local 10 News that she was relieved that she wasn’t in her bedroom when the roof of her home was damaged by heavy winds.
“I just thought it was going to be a whole lot of rain and wind blowing. I never had no idea that it would be our roof and destroying houses,” she said.
Officials said there were no reports of any injuries in the area as of Wednesday evening.
Authorities also told Local 10 News that are working their way through neighborhoods such as Steinhatchee due to downed powerlines and trees in the area.
They also said it could take two to three days for all the power to be restored in Perry and surrounding areas.
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