“terrifying”
The authorities hope that the situation will improve as of this Thursday morning.
“Everything should get better once (Wednesday) night passes,” Ron Morales, a National Service meteorologist in Charleston, projected in statements to local media.
According to projections, the storm will finish its journey in the Atlantic this Thursday.
Authorities called thousands of people in Florida to evacuate, although some residents refused to leave their homes.
In Perry, an affected city, dozens of trees were uprooted by the wind.
A pine tree fell on the home of 76-year-old John Kallschmidt, who said it was a “terrifying” experience.
“It was worse than we expected,” he told AFP. “But that’s the way it is, that’s life in Florida.”
In Steinhatchee, a small town of about 1,000 people located on the coast 30 km south of Keaton Beach, the almost deserted main street was completely inundated and looked like an extension of a neighboring river.
“Some trees fell in front of my house, but otherwise the house was saved. Everything is fine,” Patrick Boland, a 73-year-old man who locked himself in his home, told AFP.
In the Tampa Bay area, where there are more than 3 million residents, the streets were flooded and some residents had to use boats to get around.
More than 1,000 rescuers were deployed by federal authorities, after the White House called for enhanced surveillance.