Isaias leaves thousands without power across Florida and Alabama after landfall

Nearly 396,000 customers across the Florida Panhandle and southern Alabama remained without electrical service early Sunday. The widespread disruption followed landfall by Isaias along the coast. At least four deaths were linked to the storm. Destin, Florida, saw widespread property damage from the landfall.

Heavy rain was expected to be the primary hazard. Philippe Papin, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said this directly.

We’re expecting that heavy rainfall to continue here across the central Appalachians into the mid-Atlantic here during the day on Sunday, and we’re still expecting isolated flash and urban flooding, and there may be also some residual gusty winds associated with the system as it continues to kind of move up the spine of the Appalachian mountains.

Parts of the southeastern U.S. and mid-Atlantic faced scattered outages and downed trees. Life-threatening surf and rip currents were expected along the Gulf and southeastern Atlantic coasts, according to the National Weather Service.

Isaias came ashore as a Category 2 hurricane Friday near Destin. Several major coastal routes were open by daybreak Saturday. They were free of downed trees and power lines.

Winds blew the roof off a Pensacola hotel. The city’s mayor said the airport took some damage. Winds flattened a boathouse in Destin. The storm ripped away part of a high-rise facade in Panama City Beach.

A worker in a condominium parking lot swept building insulation. Other workers put back beach chairs. The winds had tossed them about.

In Florida’s Escambia County, Sheriff Chip Simmons said a woman died under a fallen tree. A man died of carbon monoxide from a garage generator, Simmons said.

Four family members of the man received treatment. Simmons said they ranged in age from 4 to 72 and were expected to survive. Isaias was the first hurricane of the Atlantic season.

The system pushed into Alabama with tropical-force winds. One person died when a tree hit a house in Birmingham, Fire Chief Cory Moon said. Another death happened in Barbour County. A crash involved a downed tree, said Josh Johnson of the state emergency management agency.

Authorities in Mobile reported numerous downed trees and power lines. President Donald Trump approved emergency declarations for Florida, Alabama and Georgia. This allowed federal aid.

The U.S. Energy Department authorized emergency crude oil exchanges from the strategic petroleum reserve. The move addressed fuel supply issues from the storm. The National Weather Service said Georgia and the Carolinas could see heavy rain.

In the Pacific, Simon was a Category 4 storm with 150 mph winds approaching Mexico. Rachel became a post-tropical cyclone overnight, Papin said. Rachel was expected to bring winds and rain to northern Mexico and Southern California.

Emergency declarations allow local governments to request federal assistance and equipment. Disaster teams clear roads and repair utility lines after major storms pass. Federal agencies coordinate relief resources across affected states.

Coastal areas in Destin worked to complete cleanup tasks after the initial impact.