Northeast Ohio locals ride out Hurricane Idalia's landfall

HOMOSASSA, Fla.-- Hurricane Idalia's landfall on Florida's gulf coast is causing major flooding near the coast as a 'perfect storm' mix with king tide.

Lots of residents are transplants from Northeast Ohio who moved away to leave harsh winter seasons.

Warren native Mary Ann Rhodes and her hubby Jay have settled down in Homosassa, almost an hour north of Tampa and an hour south of Cedar Key, where Idalia straight struck.

" At 3 a.m. it was high tide, moon and that's about right when the cyclone passed us, so it resembled the ideal storm," Rhodes stated.

Those conditions are called king tide, a mix of high tide and a full moon. Residents near the coast might see water as high as 8 to 11 feet above common high tide levels.

" We're getting that rise now, and it's going to be even worst after 2 p.m.," she stated earlier. "They're just telling us to shelter in place up until they provide us the all-clear to move about."

Clearwater resident Shannon Lucarelli lives near Clearwater Beach, which she stated is completely covered due to the high tide.

" Clearwater Beach is the Gulf of Mexico," Lucarelli stated.

Lucarelli is originally from Cleveland's West Park neighborhood. She expects conditions to only intensify. Fortunately she hasn't been significantly impacted by the high waters, but stated power was switched off as a safety measure.

Todd Gilligan is a Fort Myers resident, who is likewise riding out the storm. He is also seeing flooding nearby due to high tides.

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" When I say flooding, I mean near Fort Myers Beach," Gilligan stated over Instagram. "The streets are all filled with water due to the fact that of the high tide being available in right now still."

Many locals are remaining hunkered down. Rhodes is riding out her second cyclone in as several years considering that moving, after making it through Ian in 2015.

"We're just staying at home. We're not going to venture out and try to get images or anything and remain in anyone's way. We'll simply await the all-clear," she said.

Typhoon Idalia is moving through Georgia as a Category 1 hurricane, into parts of South Carolina and is anticipated to leave to sea by Thursday morning.