Florida Braces for Disaster With Idalia Set for Rapid Growth

Depending on its exact track, Idalia could cause as much as $10 billion in damage and losses, according to a disaster modeling firm Enki Research. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis extended his emergency declaration to cover 46 counties, up from 33 earlier this weekend. “This is going to be a major hurricane, you could have catastrophic storm surge in your area,” DeSantis said. “It’s yet another nail-biter for Tampa.”Barge traffic moving fuel along the US Gulf Coast to Florida is down, according to Ned Bowman, executive director of the Florida Fuel Marketers Association. Citgo said Sunday it discovered contaminated fuel at its terminal in Tampa, Florida, and has asked marketers to stop sales of the product.