‘It’s a mess’: Citrus County’s coastal towns begin Idalia mop-up

Coastal Citrus County began the arduous task of wringing out the remnants of Hurricane Idalia even as some pockets remained at least partially underwater.

A 7-foot storm surge Wednesday engulfed Crystal River, Homosassa and Ozello, blocking streets, flooding homes and reducing travel to watercraft only.

Citrus County and Crystal River emergency personnel via airboat rescued over 100 people stranded in their homes due to rising floodwaters. Residents with airboats did the same for their neighbors, and the National Guard is assisting as well.

The county ended the evacuation order Wednesday night and closed shelters Thursday. Citrus County Schools are open on Friday.

Officials with the Florida Department of Emergency Management are teaming with the Citrus County Building Division to conduct damage assessments.

Chris Evan, director of Citrus County Emergency Management, said the county is a declared national disaster area, making individuals and businesses eligible for federal assistance in cleanup efforts.

Evan said he expects a similar declaration to cover Idalia’s costs for the county, sheriff’s office and city of Crystal River.

Throughout Wednesday’s flood event and then again on Thursday, much of the talk compared Idalia with Hurricane Hermine in 2016, which did virtually the same thing — traveled through the Gulf of Mexico, never made landfall in Citrus County but brought a 7-foot storm surge that flooded Crystal River, Homosassa and Ozello.

Evan said the big difference is residents took Hermine more seriously.

“The thing that concerns me is people didn’t heed the warnings,” he said. “We’re very lucky the storm surge was not as high as predicted.”

Some roads leading into low-lying areas of Old Homosassa and Ozello remained closed earlier Thursday. Evan said he expects most roads to be open other than for localized flooding.

Citrus County Commissioner Jeff Kinnard lives in the Crystal River community of Dixie Shores, one of the worst flooded neighborhoods during Hermine.

Idalia brought a similar fate.

“It’s a mess. The streets are covered with silt and seaweed everywhere,” he said. “I’m quite certain at least one of my neighbors’ homes is flooded.”

Kinnard said his house is elevated and escaped damage. Not so with older homes built on ground slabs.

“There’s a lot of homes,” he said, “that appear to be a total loss.”