Idalia triggers Florida disaster aid as storm risk spreads inland

President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Florida after Hurricane Idalia struck the state in late August 2023. NOAA’s 2023 disaster review counted Idalia as one of two tropical cyclones among the record 28 billion-dollar U.S. disasters that year. The event reinforced a pattern: even storms that avoid the most populated coastlines can still trigger major federal aid because surge, wind, roads, agriculture and public infrastructure losses spread across counties.