2 People Charged With Looting as Residents Worry About Burglaries Following Hurricane Idalia

2 People Charged With Looting as Residents Worry About Burglaries Following Hurricane Idalia
Members of the National Guard assist storm-damaged business The Marina with moving and piling debris, one day after the passage of Hurricane Idalia, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., on Aug. 31, 2023. Rebecca Blackwell/AP Photo
The Associated Press
Updated:
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HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla.—Two people were charged with looting a home damaged by Hurricane Idalia in Florida’s Big Bend region, as residents’ concerns grew that burglars could be tempted to hit other hurricane-ravaged homes since law enforcement is stretched thin in the remote, wooded area along the Gulf Coast.

Some residents of Horseshoe Beach, Florida, one of the communities hardest hit after Idalia made landfall Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane, urged law enforcement to set up checkpoints where people would have to show identification in order to get into the town.