/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tbt/BKON7XC7FOEOB3U5GDX5O6VJ2Y.jpg "An unstilted home that came off its blocks sits partially submerged in a canal in Horseshoe Beach on Sept. 1 — two days after the passage of Hurricane Idalia. A man who crashed into a tree while driving in heavy rain in the Tampa Bay area on Aug. 30 has been declared Florida's fourth death from the Category 3 storm, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Monday.")
DADE CITY — A fatal single-vehicle crash just hours before Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida has been declared the state’s fourth death from the Category 3 storm, officials said Monday.
A 40-year-old man driving in heavy rain went off the roadway and hit a tree near Dade City in the Tampa Bay area on Aug. 30, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Hurricane Idalia made landfall later that morning with 125 mph winds across the state in Florida’s remote Big Bend region.
Other Idalia-related deaths in Florida confirmed by the state’s 25 local district medical examiners are a man who died in a traffic crash near Gainesville hours before Idalia made landfall, a windsurfer who went missing that same day off Florida’s Space Coast and an older adult who was struck by a falling tree after the storm passed while clearing debris with a tractor.
A man in Valdosta, Georgia, also died when a tree fell on him as he tried to clear another tree out of the road, according to the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office.
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Tampa Bay Times hurricane coverage 2023
What to do if your house floods from Hurricane Idalia
How to help Hurricane Idalia victims, or get assistance if you need it
Hurricane floodwater can be dangerous. Here’s why you should stay out of it.
Hurricane season 2023: Here’s what to know about forecast tracks.
Storm surge is deadly. We built a computer model to show how.
How to protect your pets — and yourself — during a hurricane.
Checklists for building all kinds of storm kits
Protect your data and documents using your phone
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