Hurricane Isaias Kills Two in Florida and Alabama; Hundreds of Thousands Still Without Power as Recovery Begins
At least two people are dead and more than 800,000 homes and businesses are without power after Hurricane Isaias roared ashore near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 storm. Crews are clearing roads and restoring power as the post-tropical system moves through Alabama.
Post-Tropical Cyclone Isaias pushed north through Alabama on Saturday after roaring ashore late Friday evening near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of about 105 mph, killing at least two people and knocking out power to more than 800,000 homes and businesses across the Southeast.
Trees and power lines were down across Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, creating dangerous conditions and forcing road closures late Friday, officials said. The storm ended a two-year drought of U.S. hurricane landfalls — the most recent, Hurricane Milton, hit Florida two years to the day earlier.
Deaths in Florida and Alabama
One person was killed in Escambia County, in the far western Florida Panhandle, shortly after Isaias made landfall. Authorities responded to a report of a fallen tree at about 8:48 p.m. local time and found the victim pinned under a large tree inside a home, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said. The person’s identity and age were not released publicly.
A second person died in Birmingham, Alabama, after a tree fell on a home early Saturday morning, Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency Director Jim Coker told USA TODAY. The tree fell in the Huffman area of Birmingham. Coker said emergency officials had received multiple reports of trees damaging homes across the county and were not aware of any additional storm-related injuries.
Recovery efforts begin as storm moves inland
Crews have been making progress restoring power: nearly 100,000 homes and businesses had electricity returned by 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday after about 900,000 were in the dark an hour earlier, according to outage trackers. Florida accounted for the most outages, with Alabama and western Georgia also hit hard, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said about 16,000 utility workers were working to restore service. “We’ll get everything back up and running and let people go on with their lives as soon as possible,” DeSantis said Saturday morning.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey toured damaged areas of the state Saturday and confirmed the two fatalities. The National Weather Service in Mobile reported a 117 mph gust on Santa Rosa Island and a 114 mph gust at Whiting Field near Milton, with significant wind damage reported from Pensacola northward into central Alabama. The Destin-Fort Walton Beach and Pensacola airports remained closed to clear and assess damage, and roads in parts of southern Alabama were closed.
Even as Isaias weakens — the center was about 50 miles south of Birmingham at 11 a.m. ET Saturday, moving north-northwest at 10 mph with sustained winds of 35 mph — the danger is not over. Forecasters warned of potential flash flooding and tornadoes as the storm moves inland: the greatest tornado threat Saturday was over southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, southwestern Georgia and southern South Carolina, according to AccuWeather. Heavy rain of 4 to 8 inches could fall across southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend, with maximum totals of 6 to 10 inches in far western North Carolina and the Upstate of South Carolina.
Officials urged residents to avoid damaged roads and downed power lines and to follow local safety guidance as crews continue clearing debris and responding to emergency calls.
Reporting based on coverage by USA TODAY, The Wall Street Journal and NPR.
