Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in Florida’s Big Bend, the ‘Nature Coast’ far from tourist areas

By CURT ANDERSON
Associated Press

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Big Bend is one of the last truly natural places in the state. It’s not Disney World. It’s not South Beach. This is where people go to hunt alligators, fish for tarpon and search for scallops in the shallow waters. On Wednesday, it became the bull’s-eye of a major hurricane as Hurricane Idalia made landfall near Keaton Beach in the lightly populated region as a high-end Category 3 hurricane. The Big Bend is where the peninsula merges into the Panhandle, just southeast of the capital, Tallahassee, and well north of the Tampa metro area. It’s where people go to appreciate nature and be left alone.