Hurricane Isaias Claims Two Lives After Striking Florida and Alabama

Emergency crews are assessing widespread damage across Florida and Alabama after Hurricane Isaias made landfall on the Gulf Coast Friday night as a Category 2 storm. The National Public Radio confirms that at least two deaths have been attributed to the hurricane’s impact.

The first fatality occurred in Escambia County in the western Florida Panhandle. Sgt. Melony Peterson of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office reported that a rescue team discovered a victim pinned beneath a fallen tree inside a home shortly before 9 p.m. local time Friday.

A second death was confirmed in Jefferson County, Alabama, which encompasses Birmingham. Jim Coker, director of the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency, told NPR that a tree collapsed onto a single-family residence overnight, resulting in a storm-related fatality.

Isaias brought sustained winds of 105 mph to the shore, snapping trees and causing massive power failures. While the storm has weakened to a post-tropical cyclone as it moves northward, officials warn that flash flooding remains a risk further inland.

As of 11:50 a.m. ET on Saturday, approximately 780,000 electricity customers in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia were still without power, according to Poweroutage.us. The number had dropped from nearly 900,000 earlier in the day.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated during a morning news conference that outages were most severe in Santa Rosa, Holmes, Washington, and Walton counties, where more than 80% of residents lost power. He noted that roughly 16,000 utility workers began restoring service as early as 3 a.m. Saturday.

DeSantis also confirmed that crews are clearing debris from major roadways. As of Saturday morning, both Interstate 10 and Route 98 were reopened, along with all state bridges. Images from the region showed significant flooding and destruction, including an overturned truck in Tiger Point, Florida, and a Waffle House shutdown in Fort Walton Beach.